Living On The Outside
by mm321
Summary: Haley James always knew that she had a large family but she never knew how extended it was. What happens when she finds out about a twin sister she never knew existed? Complete.
1. Over My Head

**Living on the Outside**

**Chapter One: Over My Head **

Haley James glanced around her room carefully before grabbing her jacket and rushing out to meet her best friend, Lucas Scott. He was waiting outside in his uncle's beat up tow truck, impatiently honking the horn.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Haley said as she ran down the stairs knowing he couldn't hear her. She just had this odd unsettling feeling that something was going to happen today. She rolled her eyes at herself as she concentrated on not tripping in her hurry to get outside. They were never late to school and today wasn't going to ruin their record. "Breathe Lucas."

She locked the door and ran out jumping into the opened door. "I'm here!"

Lucas rolled his eyes and peeled off into the street. "It's about time."

"Someone's grouchy today," Haley remarked as she glanced at him wearily. "What's wrong?"

"Brooke and I had a fight last night," Lucas sighed as he stopped for a red light.

Haley tried to stifle her laughter, "Let me guess, was it about your little affair with her best friend?"

"We're trying to get around that," Lucas told her pointedly, "Besides, she doesn't know about it and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell her."

This time it was Haley's turn to roll her eyes, "That actually wouldn't be a problem. The only reason we know each other is because of you and we don't really talk."

They reached the school in silence and both tensed up at the sight that was waiting for them. Brooke, Peyton, Nathan, and Tim were all sitting at a little table talking. Haley got out slowly not knowing exactly what to do. That wasn't her world, never was and probably never could be. She and Nathan had broken up after months of dating. They had cited irreconcilable differences to their friends though she knew she still loved him more than anything.

She laughed thinking of Peyton's exact words to the rest of the gang. Though she and Nathan had broken up amicably, it was still awkward around them. Lucas, on the other hand, tensed up at the sight of his girlfriend and her best friend. He had been dating Brooke for three months and two months into their relationship, he had been seeing her best friend. His life had definitely changed since the beginning of the year.

"Haley!"

The two best friends snapped out of their thoughts at the sound of Peyton's voice.

"Hey Peyton," Haley greeted her. She gave the rest of the table a small smile as she stood there not knowing if she should sit down. "What's going on?"

"Brooke and I were deciding on what movie to go see tonight," Peyton nodded her head to Brooke who was trying to ignore Lucas' presence behind Haley. "You wanna come with us?"

Haley glanced back at Lucas. They didn't have plans tonight but she still felt the need to check with him. "Sure, what movie?"

Peyton shook her head, "We haven't decided yet, Brooke only wants to see the ones with the cute guys in them and no actual plotline."

"And the problem with that would be…?" Brooke jumped in. "I mean staring at hot guys for two hours doesn't seem like a waste of time to me."

"Go right ahead," Nathan smirked and raised his arms gesturing at himself. "I don't mind."

Haley and Peyton snorted in laughter while Brooke rolled her eyes. That seemed to be the expression of the day.

"Haley," Lucas' voice cut in on her laughter, "I'm gonna go to my locker." He started walking away not waiting for a response. He just couldn't stand being that close to both Peyton and Brooke. Especially now that Brooke was angry at him.

She nodded at him and turned back to Peyton apologetically, "Sorry guys, I'm gonna go check up with him." She glanced at Brooke wearily, "He's not doing so good today."

Brooke nodded knowingly and flipped her hair away from them, "Good."

Peyton raised her eyebrows in confusion as she watched Haley run up to Lucas. "What happened?"

"Broody and I got into a little fight yesterday," Brooke shrugged. "Not a big deal."

"Fight? About what?" Peyton asked curiously, hoping it didn't have to do with anything she was involved in.

Brooke shook her head, "Don't worry about it. All he needs to do is apologize and then it'll be over with."

"Fight?" Tim perked up. "Does that mean you're free tonight then?"

Brooke gave him a look of disgust, "In your dreams Dim."

Tim smiled at her, "Well in that case, you already are."

"Let's go," Peyton stifled a laugh as she got up while trying to ignore Tim. There was just so much Tim a person could take before needing to get away.

Peyton and Brooke linked arms leaving Tim and Nathan still sitting at the table. As they walked into the building, they passed Haley and Lucas who were by his locker talking. Peyton gave her a small smile as they passed leaving Haley to wonder what exactly was she doing by cheating with her best friend's boyfriend.

"Haley," Lucas waved a hand in front of her face, "You there?"

Haley snapped out of her thoughts and focused her friend's eyes, "Yeah sorry, what were you saying?"

"What should I do?" Lucas shut his locker and they started walking toward Haley's. "About Brooke."

"Just apologize and give her chocolate or flowers," Haley rationalized. She glanced up at her friend. "You weren't fighting about anything serious so she's probably expecting something."

Lucas nodded, "Thanks Hales."

"Anytime," Haley smiled at him.

Later on that day Haley was sitting on her bed finishing her homework when she heard the phone ringing from outside the hallway. She grudgingly got up when she realized she had left her phone in the bathroom and no one else was in the house.

"Hello?" She asked breezily.

"Haley-bub?"

Haley glanced at the phone in confusion. It had been a long time since she heard that voice. "Mom? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Lydia James sighed over the line. "Are you sitting down Haley?"

Haley walked back into her bedroom and sat down on her bed carefully, "Yeah, tell me what's going on? Did something happen to Dad? Or Taylor? Or Quinn? Or…"

"Haley," Lydia interrupted. Her daughter's questions could go on forever with all her siblings. "It's your father. He's had a heart attack. He…he didn't make it."

Haley dropped the phone as the information sunk in. She sat there in shock before realizing her mother was still on the phone.

"Haley?"

Haley wiped her nose as she put the phone back up to her ear, "Yeah, Mom, any other shocking news you want to tell me?"

"I'm coming home," Lydia replied, ignoring the sarcasm coming from her youngest daughter.

"Is there going to be a funeral?" Haley whispered.

Lydia sighed again, "Of course there is, it's going to be in a couple days. In Tree Hill."

Haley closed her eyes, "And everybody's coming back? Even Taylor?"

"Even Taylor," Lydia nodded though she knew her daughter couldn't see her. "Listen honey, I have to go, are you okay?"

"I don't know," Haley replied slowly, she had just learnt a lot of information in just a couple minutes.

Lydia closed her eyes on the other end, "I know this is hard for you sweetie but we're going to get through this together, all of us." Haley could hear her trying not to sob. "I've got something else to tell you, but I'm going to wait until I get home, okay?"

"Okay," Haley responded unsurely, not knowing if she could handle any more news. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too Haley-bub." Lydia told her before hanging up slowly.

Haley looked at the receiver, still in shock about everything that she had just learned. She had just lost her father, one of the most important people in her life. Though her parents weren't always around for her, she still loved them. And now all her siblings were coming back, much to her joy and disappointment. Also, her mother still wasn't done dispensing news. She wondered what it could be. Though she knew it couldn't have been any worse than what she had just heard.

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone, I had this idea in my mind and I think it's been done before but I wanted to give it my own spin. The next chapter should be up soon, but I really wanted to see everyone's opinion to this story before even thinking of continuing it. So please drop a review, it will be greatly appreciated. I know this first chapter isn't really anything but I promise it does get better. Thanks for reading.

Melissa


	2. Days Go By

**Author's Note: **Thanks for the reviews. I really appreciate them and I'm glad that people are actually reading my story.. Please if you can write me a review, I really want to see opinions on this.

Chapter title is Keith Urban's "Days Go By"

**Chapter Two: Days Go By **

Haley still couldn't believe everything that she had just gone through. She was lying on her bed on her back staring up at the ceiling as she could hear people downstairs talking. They had just gotten back from burying her father and she didn't feeling like listening to people share their sympathy with her.

"Hales?"

Haley got up at the voice but instead of getting up from her bed, she pulled her knees to her chin. "Come in."

Nathan opened the door slightly, "Hey."

"Hey," Haley smiled. He was the last person she would have ever thought to come get her. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," He told her as he sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes bore into hers and he could see that she was taking this really hard. "You seem kinda out of it."

Haley sighed, "It's so weird having everybody here, especially for the reason that we had to bury our father."

Nathan nodded sympathetically and focused his blue eyes on her brown ones, "You're gonna get through this, we're all here for you, even Tim." He suddenly felt the urge to gather her in his arms and never let her go while trying to protect her from anything else.

"Thanks," Haley smiled at the sweetness behind his words. She rested her hand on top of his left one. "Thanks for coming up here and just talking to me. I know it's been kinda awkward ever since…"

"You're my friend Hales," Nathan interrupted and giving her hand a squeeze. "Even if we not dating, I'm not going to just cut you out of my life, you mean too much for me to do that."

Haley could feel the onset of tears and he quickly hugged her before she could say anything else. She relished in the familiarity of his touch and couldn't help but notice the attraction she still had for him.

"Now what do you say we go downstairs?" Nathan pulled away slowly, "Everybody wants to see you."

"Okay," Haley gave him a small smile and let him help her up before glancing at the mirror and seeing her puffy eyes. She shook it off and figured it was okay for people to see her like this today.

He held her hand as they walked down the stairs and Haley could see all her siblings scattered around the room talking to various relatives and all her friends standing in a circle talking amongst themselves. She saw Karen and Deb talking to each other in the corner and her mother in the middle of all of it.

"Hales," Lucas tried not to shout as he saw his best friend descend the stairs with his brother. "Where have you been?"

"In my room," Haley replied as she reached her friends, "Why?"

Peyton came up and gave her a hug, "We were worried about you."

"Yeah Tutor girl," Brooke came up from behind Peyton and surprised Haley by giving her a hug, "I'm so sorry about your dad."

"Thanks," Haley pulled away slowly to be instantly hugged again by Lucas. "How long have you guys been here?"

Lucas pulled back, "A couple minutes. Taylor told us you were in hiding."

Haley nodded knowingly. Even through everything going on, her older sister was always looking out for her and always knew where she was. She glanced around at all of her friend's faces. She could see the worry and love in all of their expressions. "Thanks you guys for being here with me today. I really appreciate it."

Lucas rubbed her arm comfortingly, "It's not a problem, Buddy."

"Yeah," Tim spoke up. "And I get free food."

Haley couldn't help but giggle at Tim's words. This is what she needed in her life. Her friends were always around and always there for her. Even Tim and Brooke who she never really hung out with alone.

Peyton shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Tim!"

"Come on Tim," Nathan gave Haley a smile before leaving the other four teens alone.

Brooke looked around before realizing the current situation. "Blondie and I are gonna go get some drinks, you two want anything?"

Haley and Lucas both shook their heads as Brooke whisked Peyton off leaving the two best friends alone. "Are you really okay Hales?"

"No," Haley shook her head and gave Lucas a sad smile, "But I will be."

Lucas nodded. "You know I'm here for you, right? We all are."

"That's what Nathan said," Haley grinned. They were more alike than they thought they were. "How are you and Brooke by the way?"

"We're good," Lucas nodded surely, "She loved the chocolate. Good advice by the way."

Haley beamed proudly. "Glad you liked it." She looked into Lucas' eyes, "I don't know if I've ever told you this, but I'm glad you found Brooke, she really does make you happy."

Lucas smiled. "She does."

"But you need to stop seeing Peyton," Haley's voice became serious. "You need to stop messing around with her and leading her on."

"I know," Lucas stared at the floor ashamed. "But I can't help it Haley."

Haley sighed, "Then you need to tell Brooke. And if you don't tell her, then I'm going to tell her."

"Since when have you sided with Brooke?" Lucas looked at her; he was trying to control his anger. He hated when people told him what to do. "It's not like you two are even friends anyway."

"You know that I've always hated your little affair. And I guess Brooke and I are friends in some weird way," Haley didn't know what came over her, "You can't keep them both, you need to decide."

"Haley," Lucas didn't know what to do. If this was any other person, he probably wouldn't have listened to them but Haley James was no other person, she was his best friend who was trying to make things better for everyone. "I don't want to hurt either of them."

Haley looked him straight in the eye, "Lucas, you're probably already hurting at least one of them."

Lucas nodded knowingly. He probably was.

* * *

"We need to talk."

Peyton glanced at him before giving one of Haley's relatives a smile and following him outside. "Okay? What's on your mind?"

"We can't do this anymore Peyton," Lucas started. He wanted to get this over with quickly. "I can't do this to Brooke."

Peyton sighed, she had been waiting for this day to come. "I know that Lucas, but…"

"There can't be any buts about this Peyton," Lucas interrupted. He hated seeing the hurt look in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Peyton tried to not to raise her voice. She didn't want anybody over hearing them. "I agree with you, this has gone on way too long but why now?"

Lucas ran a hand through his blond hair before answering, "Haley gave me an ultimatum. Either break it off or she'll tell Brooke."

Peyton nodded, she figured Haley knew by now. "Okay."

"That's it?" Lucas looked at her confused. "Just okay?"

Peyton shrugged. "We weren't that serious anyway."

Lucas nodded and pulled her in for a hug. They stood there for a long time as each wondered how life would be without the other that intimately in their life.

Meanwhile the reason for their conversation was walking around the inside of the James' house looking for her best friend. She spotted Haley talking with one of her sisters.

"Tutor girl!"

Haley rolled her eyes and turned around to see Brooke coming at her. "Yeah Brooke? What's up?"

"Have you seen Peyton?" Brooke asked. She gave a short nod to Haley's sister, "Or Lucas for that matter?"

Haley shrugged, "I haven't seen them."

"Are you talking about that skinny girl with the curly hair?" Haley's sister spoke up.

"Yeah Tay, you've seen her?" Haley turned to Taylor who gave them a smile.

Taylor nodded. "I saw her go outside with your hot best friend about half an hour ago."

Haley shook her head at Taylor's words as the realization sunk in. Lucas was breaking things off with Peyton. She was glad her words had an effect on him.

"Okay then," Brooke gave them her signature Brooke Davis grin and turned to find them.

Haley's eyes widened as she watched Brooke turn around. She didn't want her to listen to _any_ part of that conversation. "Brooke wait!"

At that moment Brooke saw someone who she'd never thought would see at Jimmy James' funeral reception. "Dad?"

Haley and Taylor's eyes instantly went to the man standing by the doorway. They watched their mother almost run to him and saw her cling to him as he tried to soothe her. "What's going on?"

"Haley-bub," Lydia turned at the voice, "I need to tell you something."

"Okay," Haley knitted her eyebrows as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Brooke watched her father eye Haley before turning back to Brooke, "This affects you too Brooke, you may as well come with us."

"Us?" Haley was trying desperately to piece the puzzle together.

Lydia grabbed Haley's arm and dragged her into the study. Haley watched Brooke and her father come in before Mr. Davis shut the door.


	3. Dare You To Move

**A/N**- Thanks for the reviews. You guys are awesome! Please keep them coming, I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to leave me a comment.

Chapter title is Switchfoot's "Dare You To Move"

**Chapter Three: Dare You To Move **

"Mom?" Haley glanced at her mother. "What's going on?"

Brooke nodded at her friend before looking at her father questioningly. "Yeah?"

Lydia and Mark Davis glanced at the other carefully before Lydia spoke up. "There's something we need to tell you girls." She looked back at Mark for support.

"About 17 years ago, Lydia and I had…well we had a little fling," Mark started but he didn't have a chance to explain any further.

"What!" Haley and Brooke exclaimed simultaneously as each turned to their respective parent.

Haley stepped away from her mother angrily, "You cheated on Dad?"

"Haley-bub, it's not like that," Lydia tried to get closer but Haley kept stepping away.

Brooke stepped in. "What are you guys trying to say?" She glanced at Haley, concerned. "Please tell me it's not what I'm thinking."

Haley sat down, "Oh my God." She rested her head in between her hands as the words sunk in.

"I found out I was pregnant," Lydia whispered. She looked at Brooke. "It was only a one night stand, I wasn't supposed to get pregnant. I was married!"

"And I was engaged," Mark tried again. He watched as his daughter tried to grasp what he was saying.

Brooke stepped closer to Haley unconsciously, "I don't understand."

Lydia sighed, "I was pregnant with twins." She closed her eyes for a split second as the words were spoken.

Two jaws dropped as the teenagers tried to grasp the situation. Haley was the first to speak, "You…I…_Mr. Davis?_...affair…twins?"

"Am I missing something here?" Brooke cut into Haley's rambling wanting to find out what exactly was happening. "Because Tutor girl and I can not be twins. We don't even look alike!"

"You two are fraternal twins," Mark smiled at the sight of his daughters standing in front of him, finally back together again.

"This can't be happening," Haley muttered. She jumped up to her feet. "Are you telling me that I…_we_…were the outcome of an _affair_?"

Lydia nodded, almost ashamed. "Haley I can explain."

Haley shook her head angrily. Her eyes, red from crying before, were now fuming. "I think you've done enough." She walked out of the room without a second look back.

Lydia went to go after her but Brooke stood in her way. "Stop and tell me what's going on!"

"Brooke," Mark stepped closer to his daughter.

"No!" Brooke exclaimed as she clutched a throw pillow tightly. "I have a right to know so just tell me what happened!"

Mark and Lydia exchanged looks before sighing and started to tell her the story. Mark went first. "Your mother..." He trailed off when he saw the look on Brooke's face. "Gloria and I were engaged when I met Lydia. She had just gotten into a fight with her husband and I was coming off a hard day at work. Gloria was away on a business trip and I was…well, I was lonely."

Brooke's eyes widened, "Are you telling me that you just couldn't keep it in your pants?"

"Brooke!" Mark admonished. She only glared at him. "Anyway it was just for that one night until Lydia told me she was pregnant. And with twins. I didn't know what to do."

"I told him that Jimmy and I would raise the babies and that he wouldn't have to tell his wife," Lydia cut in. "But then they found out that Gloria couldn't have children so he came to me and we decided that he would raise one twin while we raised the other."

Brooke couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And why are you telling us this now? Why didn't you tell us this sooner?"

Lydia sighed, "There was never a good time sweetie." She tried to step closer to Brooke, "And we really are sorry about that but you have to understand."

"Understand what!" Brooke shouted. She closed her eyes trying to calm herself down. "There was never a good time to say 'oh by the way Brooke, you and Hales are twins!' What's so hard about that?" She turned to her father, "And you! Is that why Mom never seemed to want anything to do with me?" She looked at him questioningly. "I always wanted siblings and when you always said that she couldn't have any, I just never got around to never having children at all!"

"Your mother loves you Brooke," Mark told her calmly. "She has always wanted you."

Lydia smiled weakly, "You've got a whole bunch of siblings to choose from now."

"Including Tutor girl," Brooke muttered as she sat down, letting everything wash over her as she reflected on everything that was just told to her. "This is unbelievable."

"Brooke," Mark sat down next to her. "Are you okay?"

Brooke shook her head not believing he just asked her that, "Are you crazy? How can I be okay with this? You guys just sprung this on us…I…I have to go." And with that, she left the room leaving the two adults by themselves.

"Brooke?" Peyton's voice stopped her as she left the room. "What's wrong?"

Lucas and Peyton reached her quickly and Brooke couldn't do anything but turn around slowly and glance at them wearily. "Nothing's wrong."

Lucas looked at her concerned. She obviously wasn't fine. "Brooke."

"I just…they…Haley…" She wasn't trying hard not to break down but her whole world was shattering in front of her. Everything she had ever known was a complete and total lie. Lucas finally couldn't take watching her cry in front of him and not do anything so he pulled her into his arms as she sobbed quietly.

"What about Haley?" Peyton asked as she heard her friend's name come out of the crying girl's mouth. "Is she okay?" She watched as Haley's mother and Brooke's father came out of a room. "What's going on Brooke?"

Brooke pulled away from Lucas slowly and saw her father coming towards her. "He's a liar."

Mark sighed as he reached her, "Brooke, let's go home, we can talk about it there." He glanced around nervously as the remaining guests seemed to focus on them.

"No!" Brooke exclaimed jumping back. "You can't just drop this bombshell on us and then expect us to be fine about it! You lied to us for 17 years!"

Peyton quickly stepped in between the fight, "What's going on?" She shared a confused glance with Lucas.

"Does this have something to do with Haley?" Taylor jumped in. "Is that why she ran out a few minutes ago in tears?"

Brooke turned at the voice. She looked at the girl in a newfound appreciation. This girl was not only Haley's older sister anymore, this was _her_ sister too. "Yeah. Because our parents decided that they should stop lying to us at this point."

"Lying about what Brooke?" Lucas's patience was starting to wear out.

"About their affair," Brooke told them. Gasps could be heard throughout the room as everyone heard her words. "That's right. I said _affair_."

Taylor shook her head, "You're lying."

Another James girl pushed her way through the crowd. Brooke squinted at her through her tears trying to remember her name. Vivian? Quinn? It didn't really matter at this point. "What are you talking about?"

"Brooke," Mark breathed quietly. "Don't do this here, not now."

"Why not _Daddy_?" Brooke was quickly gaining control and she thrived in the opportunity. "I think now's the perfect time to tell everyone that the affair resulted in two children."

Taylor felt as if the air was knocked out of her, "What!"

"What?" Lucas repeated. His eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. "Wait are you saying that…?"

"Haley and I were the outcome of a one night stand between her mother and my father," Brooke spit out bitterly. She turned back to her father, "Fraternal twins; that's what you said, right Dad?" She shook her head. "Now everybody knows."

Taylor shook her head, not believing in what she had just heard. It couldn't be right, the girl in front of her had to be lying. She started up the stairs where only minutes ago her baby sister had run up and she soon followed in the footsteps of her mother toward Haley's room.

"Haley sweetie, open the door," Lydia knocked on the door softly trying to hear an answer.

"How could you?" Taylor's angry voice shot out through the long hallway. "How could you cheat on dad and tell everyone the day of his funeral?"

Lydia's eyes widened as she heard her daughter's voice, "Taylor."

"Don't Taylor me," Taylor spit out, "I can't believe you would do something like that." She walked over to her younger sister's room and could hear the soft sobs escaping through the door. "Haley-bub? Open the door, it's Tay."

The door opened slowly and Haley allowed her sister to walk in but not before Taylor shot their mother another glare.

Haley walked back over to her bed and picked up Mr. Waffles before getting back into her former position. "I'm guessing you know."

"Yeah," Taylor began pacing. She didn't know what else to do. "I can't believe this."

"_You_ can't believe this?" Haley exclaimed. "I just found out that this total stranger is my real father and I have a twin sister I didn't even know about!"

Taylor sighed and walked over to the bed and laid down beside her sister. "Ok you win."

"I better win," Haley mumbled. She glanced at Taylor who was trying not to smile at her words. "I don't know what to do Tay."

"I know Hay," Taylor grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. "We'll get through this."

Haley nodded absently, "What about Brooke? She's my…_our_ sister." She paused, "I wonder how's she doing with this?"

"She wasn't very happy with her dad when I last saw her," Taylor admitted. She glanced at her sister. "I think she got Lucas or Blondie to take her home."

Haley rolled her eyes at Taylor's nickname for Peyton. She heard something outside the door before turning back to Taylor. "Is she still outside?"

Taylor didn't answer as she strained to hear the conversation that was taking place outside of Haley's room. She could distantly hear their mother's voice. "Yeah, I think Quinn and John are with her now." She could hear Haley sigh. "Don't worry about it Hales, I'm gonna be here with you through all of this, I promise."

"Thanks Tay," Haley gave her a small smile.

If only things could be that simple.


	4. The World You Love

**A/N**- You guys are seriously awesome with all the reviews, I didn't expect to get so many in just 3 chapters. Thank you all for taking the time and writing me your comments. I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this.

**lilmonkeygirl31**- Sorry I didn't mention this sooner, but you'll just have to wait for the later chapters for all the couples to appear.

Chapter title is Jimmy Eat World's "The World You Love"

**Chapter Four: The World You Love **

"Girls?"

Haley visibly flinched at the sound coming through the door. Taylor squeezed her hand tighter, giving her sister encouragement.

The door opened slowly and Lydia James walked in not caring that neither daughter wanted her there. "We need to talk."

"I think you've said enough," Haley told her bitterly.

"Haley," Lydia sighed. "You're going to have to deal with this sooner or later."

Haley glared at her mother, "I was hoping that sooner didn't mean twenty minutes after I found out."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. When did her innocent baby sister get such a mouth? "Haley."

"What Taylor?" Haley turned from her glaring match to look at her sister. "I just can't believe that after everything that she just told me she thinks she can just barge up here like nothing happened."

"You are still my daughter Haley," Lydia jumped in. "You may not like that right now, but it's true and now you're going to have to accept the fact that Mark Davis is your father."

Haley simply nodded in defeat as she stared at her mother numbly. Everything had just been thrown at her in five minutes and it was a whole lot to take in at this point. "And everything goes back to how it was before?"

"I don't know sweetie," Lydia sat down on the edge of the bed glad that Haley seemed to be calming down. "Mark says he's away a lot so maybe Brooke might want to come and live here."

"Why would she do that? To spend time with you?" Taylor glanced up at her mother in surprise, "I practically raised Haley by myself!" She shook her head at her mother. "I don't think you were ever here longer than a week at a time when Haley was growing up."

Lydia's eyes widened before she realized what her daughter was saying was true. "I guess that's true."

"You guess?" Haley laughed, "You know that's true!" She stopped laughing. "I don't care if you're around anymore, I only have one more year left before I'm off to college, and I'm fine living by myself, I've been doing it for the past two years, why change the routine now?"

"Haley," Lydia's eyes pleaded with her to listen. "I know that you're bitter with the fact that I didn't tell you about Brooke but Mark and I agreed not to even bring it up unless something forced us to." She paused and grabbed Haley's free hand in her own. "And I know that I haven't been around, but I'm here now."

Haley sat quietly as her mother's words circled around in her mind. She glanced at Taylor before looking at her mom and getting up from her bed. "It's too late."

* * *

Lucas glanced at Brooke from the corner of his eye before settling on the road in front of him. She was being uncharacteristically quiet as she leaned her head against the window watching the scenery pass by. Finally he couldn't take the silence anymore. "Brooke?"

Brooke had been waiting for him to say something, do something to find out what was going on through her mind but truth was she didn't even know what she was thinking herself. Everything had been thrown at her in less than five seconds. Her world that she thought she knew had just crumbled and now though as cheesy at it sounds, she was struggling to find out who she was in this tangled mess. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" Lucas focused his eyes on her as they came to a red light. "You seem kinda out of it."

"I just…I just want to go home," She felt like all her energy had left her and all she wanted to do was curl up on her bed.

For the first time since they had started dating, Lucas had never seen her like this. She was usually perky but now she just seemed hollow as she continued to stare out the window. He nodded slowly at her words and got her to her house within a few minutes.

"Thanks for the ride," Brooke told him as she grabbed her purse and opened the door. She turned to him and gave him a small kiss on the side of his mouth before getting out and walking slowly up the walkway before letting herself in. She watched him drive away through the window before turning back and starting up her stairs.

As she got up slowly, she realized her mother was sitting alone on one of the living room chairs reading a magazine. Brooke eyed her before setting down her stuff and walking back down.

"Brooke?" Gloria Davis looked up in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Brooke just shook her head as she stared at the blonde, blue-eyed woman in front of her and mentally smacked herself for not realizing the difference between them sooner. "Dad told me."

"Told you what?" Gloria put down her magazine and stood up, stepping closer to her daughter. Though she wasn't home that often, she really did love the girl standing in front of her, even if she didn't always show it. "What are you talking about Brooke?"

Brooke's eyes searched her mother's before turning away. "He told me about Lydia James."

"Oh," Gloria sat back down in surprise. "I bet you want an explanation then, you always did hate being left in the dark."

Brooke's head shot up at the words. "Why didn't you tell me?" She took a step back. Suddenly her feeling of indifference left as anger took over. "I wish somebody would have had the decency to tell me that my life was pretty much a complete lie."

Gloria sighed. Brooke was always one for the dramatics. "It's nothing really."

"Nothing?" Brooke exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "How is it nothing? Here I was, alone in this house, my supposed parents no where around, when I could have had a real family, when I could have had siblings?"

"Don't be so overdramatic Brooke," Gloria eyed her, emotionless. "What makes you think you could have had a real family? Lydia_ gave_ you to us, shouldn't that make up for anything?"

Brooke felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. She hadn't even thought of that. She looked at her supposed mother one more time before turning around and leaving the house with no destination in mind. She slammed the door before beginning her journey of just walking around. She thought of Peyton and Lucas before shaking her head to herself. She didn't want to talk to anyone, especially her friends.

Suddenly her thoughts turned to Haley. Haley, her twin sister. Brooke had to smile at the thought. She always wished that she had a twin, someone to share everything with. Sure she did that with Peyton but that was different.

This was just crazy. It was like a plotline out of a soap opera, this couldn't be happening to her. Suddenly she looked up surprised to where her feet had taken her. She stared out into the ocean as she stepped onto the docks, watching the waves come to the shore. It was pretty desolate except for the lone person sitting on one of the benches further down. As Brooke focused clearly, she could see the figure and knew instantly who it was.

She walked over quietly and sat down, not saying anything. Haley didn't look surprised to see her. She turned to her new sister slowly while continuing to cry. This was insane to her too. Brooke listened to the crying before pulling Haley in for a hug and began to cry with her. Their lives had changed completely but at this point, they were both glad they had someone there that knew what they were going through.

Haley clung to Brooke tightly and she could feel Brooke holding on to her just as tightly as they continued to just let their emotions out while holding on to each other. Now it was just the two of them against everybody. They hadn't been that close before, they had barely even spoken but now they had a bond, not a close one yet but something that wouldn't let them ever turn against the other.

Finally Haley pulled away, wiping her tears as she stared out into the water, not catching Brooke's eyes. "Thanks."

"Hey," Brooke shrugged, also wiping away her tears. "That's what sisters are for."

Haley smiled at that before turning back to the girl sitting next to her. "Unbelievable, huh?"

"Yeah," Brooke agreed. She spared a glance at Haley. "Crazy." She wrung her hands nervously. This was all new to her. "So what's gonna happen now?"

"I don't know," Haley caught her eye, she could tell that Brooke didn't know what to do and honestly, she had no idea either, something neither of them were familiar with. "But I'm willing to give us a start."

Brooke grinned through her tears, "Yeah, well you had no choice."

"I guess not," Haley couldn't help but giggled at the thoughts. "Who would have thought, huh?" She shook her head, "Never in a million years did I ever think this would happen."

Brooke nodded, "It's not so bad though, at least us being related." She shrugged, "Everything else is probably gonna end up weird, but at least we'll be together."

"Yeah," Haley grinned as she linked their arms together. "In a way, this is kinda cool."

Brooke smiled, "Yeah it is." She could help but let out a laugh. "I can't believe we're twins. Seriously that really is cool." She could feel Haley nodding as they sat there quietly.

"What are we gonna do?" Haley's voice cut through the silence that had taken place. "About our parents. You think we're gonna have to move? And if so, which one of us?"

Brooke's eyes lit up as an idea came across her mind. "Maybe we can get an apartment, just the two of us!"

Haley couldn't help but smile at Brooke's enthusiasm but she frowned a couple minutes later. "They'll never let us do that." She shrugged. "Besides Mom said she'll be staying here from now on, that means she'll want us close to her."

Brooke sighed in disappointment. "Dad's gonna be leaving soon I bet. He was never one to stay around one place too long."

"How is that gonna work out?" Haley asked quietly. She looked out at the now darkened sky. "Am I gonna have to call him dad and you call her mom? Are we gonna do family outings?"

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at those thoughts. "Yeah right. Nice try though, extra points for actually thinking that'll happen."

Haley grinned at the words. "True." She felt Brooke lean her head against her shoulder. "In a way, I'm kinda happy that this happened. I got a twin out of it."

"Yeah," Brooke nodded happily. "And I've always liked you Tutor girl. Even though you and I never really ever had a conversation that lasted more than five minutes." She snuggled up to Haley as the cold air started to get to her.

"Well Tigger, all that that just changed." Haley spoke the words confidently. "Because now we kind of have to get along." She felt Brooke begin to laugh. "I do have one thing that I really want to know though."

Brooke knitted her eyebrows. "And what's that?"

"I wonder who's older?"

Brooke looked up to see Haley's amused expression before giggling. "I'm so totally older than you."

Haley rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else. Brooke laid her head back down on Haley's shoulder as the girls sat in a comfortable silence, their arms still linked, each dreading going back to their respective house and each lost in thought as the sky grew darker. This turned out a lot better than either of them thought it would be. It led them to each other.


	5. A Million Miles

**A/N**- Thank you guys so much for the reviews, it still shocks me with how many I got with just four chapters.

**shehasnotime: **I'm almost done writing the story so I've already decided on who's older, you'll just have to keep on reading to find out!

Chapter Title is Tamara Bedricky's "A Million Miles"

**Chapter Five: A Million Miles **

Peyton tapped her foot unconsciously as she waited for Brooke to pick up her phone. After Lucas had taken her friend home, she had stuck around with Nathan and Tim as chaos broke out around her. Soon after, she had seen Haley leave, actually run, out of her house as Taylor came down frantically, looking for her sister.

"_Hello?_"

Peyton's eyes widened, "Brooke, thank God, where are you?" She began pacing her room. "I've been calling your cell for the past half hour. I've been worried about you."

Peyton could hear giggles coming from the other end of the phone and sighed involuntarily. "P. Sawyer, I'm fine, I promise."

"Are you sure?" Peyton asked, a little worried. "Do you want to come over?"

"Hold on," Brooke covered the phone. Peyton sat on her bed waiting for the response as she could hear part of the conversation taking place. "Can Haley come too?"

Peyton lifted her eyebrows in confusion, "Haley's there with you?" She paused. "You and Haley are hanging out together?"

Brooke laughed, amused. "Yeah, not that hard to understand Blondie. After all she and I are sisters now."

"That's right…" Peyton trailed off. "Why don't you tell me the whole story when you guys get here?"

"Okay," Brooke told her. "We'll be there in about fifteen minutes, kay?"

Peyton nodded though she knew Brooke couldn't see her. "Okay." She hung up and sat down on her desk chair as she pulled out a sketchpad. Though she was tremendously confused as to the whole situation, she knew that both Brooke and Haley had to be triple that.

She sighed as she flipped by a picture of Lucas. He had suddenly broken off their little affair and while she had been expecting it, she was surprised it was this soon. After all they had been through between them, both emotionally and physically, she had started to care for him and in a way, she thought he was starting to care for her too. Guess she was wrong.

Suddenly the doorbell rang snapping Peyton out of her thoughts. She wrinkled her face as she realized who was knocking.

"What'd you do, fly over here?" Peyton teased as she opened the door to reveal Brooke and Haley. "Fifteen minutes my ass."

Haley rolled her eyes. "Brooke and I were already walking around when you called." She stepped in leaving Brooke outside. "And about halfway here she decided that she had to pee really badly and that's all I've heard for about the past five minutes as we ran here."

Brooke suddenly dashed inside leaving Peyton and Haley alone. "I'll be right back!"

Peyton laughed as she saw her friend run through her house quickly but her laughter died down as she saw the look on Haley's face. "What's wrong Hales?"

"Did Lucas tell you?" Haley whispered sharply, not wanting Brooke to hear their conversation. "About breaking things off?" She eyed her friend hoping for something good. After everything that just happened, the last thing she wanted to start doing was lie to Brooke.

Peyton nodded slowly. "Yeah, things are over. I promise." She sighed. Even though Brooke was her best friend and she knew what she had done was wrong, she couldn't help but feel a little sad that she and Lucas were over. "I never thought things were gonna get this far Hales, I swear."

"I know that Peyton," Hales sighed. She really wasn't that upset with the other girl but the affair had gone on way too long. "But what you two were doing was wrong and I had enough."

"I know," Peyton gave her a sad smile. She wasn't angry at Haley for putting that ultimatum out, she knew it was for good reason and there was no way she could stay angry at Haley for doing the right thing.

Brooke bounced back into the room and noticed the somber vibe coming from her two friends, "What's going on?"

Haley gave her a smile, "Nothing Tigger." She knew that if they had been closer, Brooke would have prodded her but she wasn't even going to try at this point.

"Okay?" Brooke shrugged. She clapped in excitement. "Let's watch a movie!"

Peyton and Haley had to share a smile at Brooke's enthusiasm before responding in unison. "Not _Bring It On_!"

Two hours later, Peyton was sitting asleep on one side of the couch while Haley was on the other side lost in her thoughts. The television was still on, set on a random channel but neither were even paying attention to it.

Brooke was lying in between them with her head on Haley's lap and her feet on top of Peyton's. Brooke was also still awake, unknown to Haley who was unconsciously running her hands through Brooke's hair. She grinned softly at her sister's actions before starting up a conversation.

"Hales?"

Haley glanced down at Brooke surprised. "Yeah?"

"What's gonna happen now?"

"I don't know Brooke," Haley told her honestly. She ran a hand through her own hair tiredly before giving her sister a small smile. "This is all just so strange. I just don't know what to do."

Brooke reached up and grabbed one of Haley's hands that was still running through her hair. "We're in this together. It's you and me now."

"Yeah," Haley grinned. "Just the two of us." She glanced over at Peyton who was snoring softly. Brooke sat up slowly leaning most of her weight against Haley. "How about we go to sleep now? I have this feeling that tomorrow's gonna be crazy."

Brooke giggled. "We can leave her here on the couch and take her bed." She stood up and positioned Peyton so her friend was lying horizontally on the couch. Haley got up and watched her sister take care of her best friend. Brooke found a blanket and laid it gently over Peyton before standing up straight and walking toward Haley.

Haley, meanwhile, was watching the caring way that Brooke watching over Peyton. She had never seen this side of the other girl before. "She's lucky to have you, you know."

Brooke smiled softly as she looked at Peyton, "I'm lucky to have her."

Haley bit her lip as she thought of the betrayal that Peyton had done to Brooke and only knew that Brooke could never find out about Peyton and Lucas. It would break her heart.

"Hey," Brooke waved her hand in front of Haley's face. "You ready to go up? You kinda space out on me there."

"Sorry," Haley replied, not wanting to look at Brooke directly in fear of showing her emotions. "Yeah let's go."

Brooke linked their arms and started up the stairs. "I must say Tutor girl, that you and I have bonded quite a lot today." She gave a small laugh as they reached the top stair.

Haley couldn't help but let out a small giggle as they got to Peyton's room and picked her side of the bed instantly. Brooke bounced on the bed and got under the covers quickly, not even bothering to change. Haley shook her head as she got in beside her sister. How could that girl have so much energy, even at that time of night?

"Night Hales," Brooke told her sleepily, her energy evidently leaving her.

Haley smiled before closing her eyes, "Night Tigger."

The next morning, Peyton watched the two sisters sleep before grinning evilly and jumping on the bed, clearly waking both of them up.

"What the hell?" Brooke looked around the room groggily as her vision focused. She saw Peyton sitting on the edge of the bed with a wicked smile and Haley grabbing her pillow and putting it over her head. "Geez P. Sawyer, you want to give us a heart attack?"

Haley groaned not wanting to get up yet. "Go away."

Peyton and Brooke shared a smile before pulling the covers away and taking the pillow off her head.

"You guys are so mean."

The two girls laughed as they watched Haley slowly come around. She opened one eye then the other and grabbed the covers. "What time is it?"

"It's about 8," Peyton shrugged. "And here I thought you were a morning person Hales."

Haley sighed, "I've had a rough couple days, let me sleep."

Brooke grinned as she rolled over on her elbow so she was facing down at Haley. "Come on Haley." She dragged out her name in a whiny tone knowing that it could annoy anyone.

"Stop it," Haley groaned grabbing Brooke's pillow and putting it over her head. Brooke shrugged at Peyton who raised her eyebrows slightly. "You two are crazy."

"All three of you are crazy," a voice interrupted them from the doorway.

Peyton and Brooke turned at the voice and Haley, curious to who it was, took the pillow off her head and groaned when she saw it was only her best friend. "Oh it's you."

Lucas laughed, "I see how it is Hales, is that anyway to greet your best friend?" He walked over to the bed and gave Brooke a quick kiss before sitting over by Haley. He grabbed the pillow from her hands not giving her a chance to ever go back to sleep.

"I hate you all," Haley announced as she slowly sat up eying all of them slowly.

The other three teens had to laugh at the girl sitting next to them.

"You know you love us Hales," Peyton giggled.

Haley shook her head causing her hair to fly everywhere. "Not anymore." She saw Brooke try to stifle her laughter. "What?"

"Your…your hair," Brooke spit out before bursting into laughter. Peyton, who was doing a good job of not laughing at her friend, couldn't help but join Brooke in laughing at the young tutor sitting in front of her.

Lucas grinned when he saw the pout come over Haley's features. He knew she only pulled it out when she was in serious trouble or when no one was listening to her. "Aww, are they making fun of my buddy?"

Haley nodded as Lucas put his arm over her shoulders pulling her closer to him. "Make them stop."

Suddenly Haley's cell phone rang silencing everyone in the room. The phone calls were starting. Haley reached over to Peyton's nightstand and sighed as she read the caller I.D. before voicing what every one was secretly dreading.

"It's my mom."


	6. I'll Take My Chances

**A/N- **The reviews are awesome, I love reading what you guys have to say so, please, keep them coming.

Chapter title is "I'll Take My Chances" by The Click Five.

**Chapter Six: I'll Take My Chances **

"And then what happened?"

Haley sighed. "I told her that I had to go to school and then I hung up on her."

Nathan let out a low whistle as he watched Haley tap her pen unconsciously on the table. "What are you gonna do now?"

Haley closed her eyes. "I have no idea." She opened them as she settled on Nathan's clear blue eyes. "I just can't go back there now, not when I'm still so angry at her."

Nathan reached out and grabbed her hand. "You can always come stay with me," He grinned at her. "You know I love the company."

"Thanks Nathan," Haley gave him a small smile as memories of all the fun times they had shared in his small apartment swept over her. "But Peyton's offered to house us until we figured it all out. And Luke told me that Karen wants us to stay over there too."

"So you and Brooke are like a package now, huh?" Nathan smiled, amused. "I can remember when you couldn't stand her."

Haley rolled her eyes. She, too, could remember that time. "Yeah, well, everything's changed."

Nathan raised an eyebrow at the bitterness coming from Haley. He knew she wasn't one for change and granted, this was a big change, but something inside him thought she would be taking this better.

Haley caught him looking at her with that curious expression on his face. "It's not that I found out Brooke was my sister, I'm just angry at the fact that they couldn't have told us sooner." She paused. "I mean 17 years is a long time to be hiding that little secret especially in such a small town like Tree Hill, someone had to have known."

"Yeah," Nathan nodded as he agreed. He glanced down and noticed they were still holding hands. He tried not to smile as he responded. "But are you really going to be spending your time going to every person in Tree Hill and asking them?"

Haley let out a grin, "No."

"Then just worry about what's going to happen now that you found out about Brooke and Mr. Davis," Nathan suggested.

Haley squeezed his hand gently, "When did you get so smart?"

"Since you became my tutor," Nathan's eyes twinkled.

* * *

Brooke sighed to herself as she opened the door slowly hoping that no one was home. While it was entirely possible that her father was already gone on another trip and had taken his wife with him, she knew that this would be the exception to everything she had ever known. 

She stuck her head in before coming in completely and shutting the door. She tiptoed softly up the stairs when suddenly all the lights in the house turned on.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Brooke whirled around at the voice. She rolled her eyes at her father. "Like you even care."

"Where were you Brooke?" Mark Davis asked again. His eyes gave away his tired appearance and obviously fighting with his daughter was not something he wanted to do.

"I was at Peyton's," Brooke eyed him. "And that's where I'm going to be staying at from now on when you're here."

Mark sighed, "Don't do this Brooke, I understand that you're angry but don't you think you're taking this a little too far?"

Brooke's eyes widened at his words. Did he really just say that? "You lied to me for 17 years, I think I'm allowed to be angry for a couple days or even until my high school graduation." She crossed her arms.

"We did what we thought was best," Mark rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Why can't you understand that?"

"Because I could have had my twin sister by my side for all those years!" Brooke started, almost yelling. "Because what you thought was best was obviously wrong!" She lowered her voice. "Because I can't tolerate lying."

And with those words she turned around and ran upstairs as quickly as she possibly could not caring that she just ran out of an argument. She just wanted to get out of this house. She reached her bedroom and grabbed the first bag that she could find and started throwing clothes into them. She grabbed all her necessities and ran out as quickly as she ran in.

"Brooke!" her father yelled as she ran past his office. He ran after her. "Brooke, wait!"

"And why would I do that?" She asked as she stuffed her bags into the trunk of her car. "Give me one good reason."

Mark stepped closer. "I want you and Haley to live with me…with us."

Brooke stopped what she was doing and glanced at her father incredulously before laughing. She laughed until it began to hurt and when she stopped, she had to wipe away the tears that came down her cheeks. "Do you really think that's going to happen?"

"I'm serious Brooke," Mark insisted.

Brooke took a close look at her father for what seemed to be the first time in a few years. He was still young, just more worn out. "Yeah well so is Lydia but we're not running over there either."

"What!" Mark knitted his eyebrows. But before he could say anything else, Brooke was already starting her car. He watched her pull out and drive down the street before he could even think of what she said.

Brooke glanced up at her rearview mirror at her father's retreating figure before looking ahead. She knew Haley was going back to her house to get clothes too and Brooke could only wish that her sister was there now and that no one else was home.

She reached the James house quickly and took a deep breath before getting out of her car and walking up the steps slowly.

She jumped back when the door opened almost instantaneously. "Whoa."

"Sorry," Taylor James grinned. "What are you doing here?"

Brooke eyed the other girl cautiously. "Is Haley here?"

Taylor shrugged before stepping back into the house. Soon her yells reverberated throughout the house and Brooke had to flinch at how loud Taylor's voice was. Taylor suddenly appeared at the door again. "Nope, not here."

"Well okay," Brooke took a step back. She stood there in silence as she glanced at the other girl. "It was nice seeing you again." She turned around and began walking back to her car.

"Brooke wait," Taylor's voice stopped the younger girl.

Brooke turned around curiously and was instantly pulled into a hug by the blonde. She stood there in surprise before hugging her back. Finally Taylor pulled away.

"Welcome to the family."

A smile formed over Brooke's features and the dimples she was known for made their appearance when suddenly a figure at the door caught her attention. There was Lydia James watching two of her daughters, one that she never got a chance to know. "I have to go."

And before Taylor could say another word Brooke was already down the street. She turned around and saw her mother watching her. "Seems like a nice girl."

Taylor nodded. "Too bad we never got the chance to know our own sister."

Lydia sighed as Taylor passed her on the way inside the house. She watched Brooke's car as it turned the corner leaving nothing but a flashing memory behind. "It really is too bad."

* * *

"You need to get a cell phone!" 

Haley's head shot up at the voice and relaxed when she saw it was only Brooke. "Why?" She watched Brooke walk over to the counter and sit in the stool in front of her.

"Because…in case I need to reach you," Brooke nodded smugly, obviously proud of herself.

Haley raised an eyebrow, "I told you I had a shift today." She grabbed the empty plates that were sitting next to Brooke before heading into the back. "Besides, I do have one."

"I didn't know that," Brooke replied, surprised. She tried to remember the last time she ever had to call Haley for something, she guessed it was never.

"That's because you and I have never hung out before, Tigger," Haley gave her a smile as she came back. "So what did you need?"

Brooke didn't look at Haley and instead glanced around the room, "I kinda moved out today."

Haley's eyes widened. She didn't expect Brooke's news to be that serious. "What!" Haley spit out before tapping her nail on the counter making Brooke look at her. "What do you mean, moved out? Where are you going to live?"

"Well here's the thing, Peyton said I can live with her," Brooke could see that she caught Haley off-guard and she couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess I can live there until I find my own place."

"Brooke you don't even have a job, how can you afford to live on your own?" Haley questioned. She placed her hands on the counter firmly trying to balance herself. "And don't even suggest what I know you're thinking."

Brooke raised her eyebrows, "You don't know what I'm thinking."

"Brooke!" Haley exclaimed. She wasn't in the mood to deal with insane person that was her sister. "And yes, I do know what you're thinking. But anyway, why did you move out?"

"He said that he wanted both of us to live with him," Brooke whispered as she finally locked eyes with Haley. "And I just can't take being in that house with him and her, I just can't."

"Brooke…" Haley started but she was quickly interrupted.

"And I know that your…" Brooke caught herself quickly. "…Our mom wanted us to live with her but I went to your house to look for you and I saw her and I just…I can't be there either."

Haley's heart went out to her sister. Brooke looked so dejected sitting there. "You went to my house?"

Brooke gave her a small smile, "I ran into Taylor, I really like her."

"I really like her too," Haley smiled back, glad to know that her older sister was at least trying to help Brooke out in this weird situation. "Is this what you really want?"

"I want it more than anything," Brooke told her honestly. "And Peyton's gonna help me through this, I just want to know that you'll be here for me."

Haley grabbed her hand, "I'll always be there for you."


	7. Let It All Out

**Mony19- **I know you're waiting for Brooke and Gloria to talk and I promise you'll get it soon. I just finished writing that particular chapter and I hope that when you read it, you'll enjoy it.

Thanks for all the reviews and comments.

Chapter title is "Let It All Out" by Relient K.

**Chapter Seven: Let It All Out **

Brooke and Haley stayed at the café, Haley working and Brooke sitting there bored out of her mind until Haley threw her a towel and made her work. It was watching the two sisters work and banter with each other that made the customers smile as they finished their dinners. Soon the café was empty with only an hour until closing.

"So where's Karen?" Brooke suddenly noticed it was just the two of them plus the cook in the kitchen. "I thought she came everyday."

"Yeah," Haley nodded as she started washing some of the dishes. "She left right before you came in, said she had some errands to do." Haley shrugged as she glanced at Brooke, "I told her I was fine to close, it's not like I haven't done it before."

Brooke suddenly realized just how much her sister depended on Karen and the café. "You're in here a lot, aren't you?"

Haley gave her a look, "I work here." She slowly raised her eyebrows to herself as she turned back to the dishes before muttering, "It's a good thing I'm the smart one."

"No," Brooke laughed. "I mean just hanging around and stuff."

Haley shrugged, "Karen's been more of a mother to me that our own mom has and Lucas has been my best friend since I was 8, this place is just like home to me."

Suddenly, before Brooke could respond, the doorbell jingled and in walked two people neither girls wanted to see.

Haley's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Brooke whirled around in her seat and her eyes hardened as she saw her father standing there with Lydia James by his side. "You guys just can't take a hint can you?" She stood up and walked around the counter so she was standing next to Haley.

"We need to talk to you girls." Lydia started as she moved toward the stools.

Mark nodded as he sat next to Lydia. He watched as his daughters got closer together on the other side of the counter and he had to smile. Though having just found out, they seemed to be dependent on each other and no matter what happened with the four of them, Mark was glad that his twins had each other. "And no running away this time."

Haley suppressed a smile as she glanced at Brooke who could only glare at her father. She sighed as her gaze went back to her parents. "What do you want?"

"Mark told me that he wants the two of you to live with him," Lydia began to explain, her eyes pleading for them to listen. "But I also want you two to live with me."

Brooke let out a short laugh. "I'm not living with either of you." She nudged Haley who could only look away. "I know that Haley hasn't made up her mind yet but that's my decision as of now."

"Brooke," Mark inched closer to the girls. "Don't you think that's a bit drastic?"

"No," Brooke told him shortly. "I actually don't."

Lydia sighed. "I know that the both of you are angry with us and it's understandable but do you really want to act like this when we can just solve everything right now?"

Haley raised an eyebrow, "Solve what?"

"The living situation," Mark explained slowly.

Brooke rolled her eyes. She seriously couldn't believe her parents were this dense. "Have you not been listening for the past five minutes? I told you I'm not living with either of you." She paused. "Especially after you lied to us this whole time."

"We didn't technically lie to you," Lydia caught eye contact with Haley before Haley turned away. "We just never told you."

"Besides, it seems to me like you two weren't the best of friends before anyway," Mark shrugged. "We guessed it just seemed like the right thing keeping you separate."

Haley just shook her head as the words kept spewing out of his mouth. It seemed like he just kept digging himself further and further into the little hole he had created for himself. "That's not the point. The point is that both of us would have liked to know that we were twins!"

Brooke glanced at her sister as her voice got consistently louder. She had never heard Haley get so angry at another person before. She had heard from Lucas that Haley was the kind of calm screamer that brought on guilt whenever she was angry at someone.

"Haley," Lydia said calmingly. She reached a hand out but quickly pulled it back when she saw that Haley was obviously not in the mood.

Brooke linked her arm through Haley's bringing her sister closer to her. She could see Haley trying to calm herself. "I think you should leave."

"We are not leaving until everything is settled!" Mark resisted the urge to slam his fist down on the counter.

"Is that it then?" Brooke shot back. "Just the living situation?"

Lydia and Mark exchanged glances. "We figured you two had some questions for us."

"Why?" Haley finally spoke up since her little outburst. She didn't look at any of the three people in the room. "Why did you split us up?"

Mark sighed, "I was young and when Gloria told me she couldn't have kids and Lydia said that she was going to have twins, I figured that we could each have one." He took a breath, "I never could have imagined that it could have been like this."

Haley nodded, understanding at least his part. "But why didn't you ever tell us?"

"That was mutual I guess," Lydia jumped in, glad that her daughters seemed to be willing to talk. "We thought it would be harder for everybody if the two of you knew especially since we didn't want anyone to know about our affair."

"I guess that's understandable," Brooke thought out loud. "I just wish we could have known sooner." She smiled at Haley, "I could have had my twin with me through everything."

Haley grinned back before turning back to her parents. "How was it that no one knew?" She glanced at her mother, "John would have been 13 when we were born, if he came to visit the 'baby', wouldn't he have seen two?"

Lydia's small smile disappeared. "Brooke was born premature so when everyone came to visit, they only saw Haley because Brooke was in the NICU."

Both girls stayed silent as her words washed over them. Suddenly Brooke knitted her eyebrows. "Is that why Dad chose me to take with him? Because your whole family had already seen Haley?"

Mark sighed as he glanced at Lydia and then back at Brooke, "To be honest, yes, but I didn't even see Haley after you two were born, and Jimmy had already taken a liking to her." He shrugged softly. "When I saw you lying there in the NICU Brooke, I just couldn't take my eyes away, you were so small and all I wanted was for you to get better."

Brooke was trying to stop the tears that were threatening to escape. She hadn't expected that honest an answer from her father.

"Dad knew about you two?" Haley jumped in. She didn't notice the pained look come over Mark's features for the split second that she called Jimmy James her father. Brooke, however, did catch it and she knew that no matter how long they had been separated, Mark did love Haley. "He knew that I wasn't his child?"

Lydia nodded slowly, "He knew." She watched Haley slump into the small stool that was sitting there behind the counter. "He loved you like one of his own Haley, even if you weren't biologically his, he overcame that."

"Wait a minute, does that mean that Haley's older?" Brooke's eyes widened as the thought came across her mind. She glanced down at Haley and sat down next to her in the small stool.

Mark had to smile, "Haley's older by 3 minutes."

"Ha," Haley stuck her tongue out at Brooke. "Told you I was older."

Brooke rolled her eyes at her sister before turning back to her parent's. She took a good look at both of them before speaking again. "I know that you two came in here with the idea of having Haley and I live with one of you but as for me, I know that I can't right now, maybe later on, maybe never, but for now, I'm gonna stay with Peyton."

Haley watched her sister as she spoke then turned back to the people sitting in front of her. "I haven't decided anything yet so for now I'm still going to live at my house and until I come to a decision, that's where I'm going to stay."

Lydia nodded as she stood up. "I understand that and I'm not going to force either of you to do anything you don't want."

"I don't want you living by yourselves," Mark spoke up. "And my home, as well as Lydia's, is going to be there whenever you want to come home."

Brooke smiled up at her father for the first time in days. "Thanks Dad."

The two parents nodded at their teenage daughters before leaving the café, leaving the two girls alone. Haley let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and Brooke stood up and began to pace the small café. "You think we're doing the right thing?"

Haley sighed, "I have no idea."

Brooke nodded but didn't say anything. She glanced out the window into the vast darkness as her thoughts swam chaotically in her head. "Me either."


	8. Stab My Back

Chapter Title is by the All-American Rejects

**Chapter Eight: Stab My Back **

Lucas sat down on one of the lunch tables waiting for the rest of his friends to come. Ever since the news about Brooke and Haley came out, he hadn't seen much of his best friend or girlfriend and while he knew that they were trying to deal with everything, he kind of missed them.

Suddenly Nathan and Tim walked over with Jake behind them. Lucas nodded to the three guys. "Where are the girls?"

"Brooke and Peyton are coming," Nathan sat down. "And Haley was right behind us." He turned around and smiled to himself when he saw Haley walk down towards the table. "There she is."

"Hey Hales," Lucas greeted her. He watched her sit down next to Nathan and in front of him. Though he didn't like to admit it, his best friend and brother made a great couple and he never understood why they had broken up.

Haley grinned at him. "Hey Luke, I haven't seen you around lately."

"That's because you've been AWOL," Lucas replied jokingly. His eyes caught the sight of his girlfriend before glancing back at Haley. "And there's your twin right now."

Haley had to smile at his words. People were already referring to them as twins, even sisters. While Brooke rolled her eyes at their usage of the word, Haley couldn't help but grin. A twin was something she never thought she would have.

"Hey Broody," Brooke greeted as she and Peyton reached the table. Her gaze swept over the table before they rested on Haley. "Tutor girl! Long time no see."

"Tigger," Haley raised an eyebrow. She could see that Brooke was in a good mood.

Peyton sat next to Haley as Brooke took the empty seat next to Lucas, "Hey Haley, so have you decided on anything yet?" She caught the confused look on Haley's face. "Brooke told me."

"Oh," Haley shook her head, before glancing over at Brooke and Lucas who were having their own conversation. "As of now, I'm just gonna stay at my house. I mean Tay's there now and who knows when she'll come back again."

"Yeah that makes sense," Peyton nodded. She watched Nathan lean towards them obviously listening to their conversation. "I just want you to know that you're welcomed at my house as much as Brooke is."

Haley gave her a smile, "Thanks Peyton."

"And Haley and I've talked about it too," Nathan jumped in. "I told her she can stay with me."

Brooke stopped talking and turned to the conversation going on in front of her. "Boy Toy and Tutor Girl living together _after_ a breakup? Interesting."

Haley laughed, "It's not like that Brooke."

"Besides, just because we're not dating doesn't mean we're not friends," Nathan told the table. He glanced around catching Tim's obvious grin and Luke's amused one. "I mean it."

"Why did you two break up anyway?" Peyton asked, clearly interested. "I mean, neither of you ever gave us a straight answer, and no offense but you guys are clearly not over each other."

Haley and Nathan's jaws dropped at her brash statement. Neither knew what to say to that, neither knew how to _respond_ to that. Brooke caught their expressions and couldn't help but laugh at her sister and her sister's ex-boyfriend. "Too funny P. Sawyer."

Jake grinned and finally spoke up. "I get it, maybe they're secretly dating and don't want anyone to know?"

"Or maybe Haley found out about Nathan's _Little Mermaid_ obsession?" Peyton shrugged. "That's why I broke up with him."

Nathan blushed as Haley couldn't help but giggle at Peyton's guess. "We just decided to take a break, that's all."

"Uh huh," Brooke decided it was her turn to speak up. "Yeah, that's not a very good reason."

"Brooke," Haley sighed, "Seriously. We're just taking a break right now, we've just got too many things going on to work on a relationship."

Brooke nodded, still not believing what they were saying. "Whatever you say Hales, I'm just saying that none of us believe anything you guys are saying."

Haley rolled her eyes. As far as she was concerned, they could all believe what they wanted, she and Nathan knew the truth and that was all that mattered. Nathan glanced down at her and she knew that he was thinking the same thing.

Brooke couldn't help but catch the loving looks exchanged by Nathan and Haley and she knew that she would get them back together by the end of the year. Suddenly she felt Lucas's hand searching for her own and had to smile. He had seemed a little out of it in the past couple weeks but she could feel him returning to her and she was glad she had him through all of this.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the seven teens stood up, each going to their respective classes. Brooke held on to Lucas' hand while linking arms with Peyton as the three teens went off to English class.

After realizing that their class was going to be in the library, Brooke quickly asked to go to the bathroom leaving Peyton and Lucas alone for the first time in days.

"Hey," Lucas broke the silence. They had been too close before to let anything stop them from becoming friends.

Peyton eyed him before relaxing. "Hi."

"Can we talk?" Lucas asked, noticing the uncomfortable tension between them.

Peyton raised an eyebrow, amused. "What do you think we're doing now?"

"I mean about us," Lucas clarified.

"Oh," Peyton glanced around and grabbed his arm, leading him to the back of the library so no one could see them. "Talk."

"I'm sorry," Lucas started, he scratched his neck in nervousness. "I'd never thought I would have to end anything with you, especially like that."

Peyton nodded understandingly. She recognized the position he had put himself in. "I know that, and that's why I'm glad we can be friends through all of this, especially for Brooke."

"Brooke," Lucas repeated. "She can't find out about us." He caught Peyton's eyes and found himself inching closer to her, unconsciously doing what he knew he shouldn't.

"No," Peyton shook her head softly as Lucas' lips came over hers, pushing her back against the wall. It seemed like nothing would ever end between the two of them. They sought out each other not knowing they had an audience.

Brooke cleared her throat quietly, hoping to get their attention, her eyes blazing in anger. She had never expected this of her best friend or boyfriend. "Guess I'm interrupting something."

Lucas and Peyton pulled away from each other and looked at Brooke who was clearly upset. "Brooke wait!"

"I thought you were my best friend Peyton," Brooke snapped. "I guess I was wrong." She saw Lucas moving to talk to her. "And don't even get me started on you Lucas."

She walked away, leaving the two cheating teenagers in her wake. The brunette quickly grabbed her stuff and walked out not caring that someone was calling after her, probably the teacher. She dumped her books in her locker and was in the parking lot in two minutes. She just wanted to go home.

Lucas and Peyton glanced at each other before Peyton took off running after Brooke.

"Brooke!"

Brooke turned around but when she saw that it was only Peyton, she felt no need to stop what she was doing and quickly reached her car.

Peyton rushed to the light blue bug. "We have to talk about this Brooke."

Brooke glared at her, "We have nothing to talk about." And with those words she got into her car and sped out of the parking lot leaving Peyton standing there wondering just exactly where she went wrong.

* * *

Hours later, Haley found herself standing in front of the Davis mansion, the one place she never thought she'd see herself at. When Lucas told her that Brooke had seen them kissing, Haley could only think of how her sister was doing. She had left the café as soon as her shift was over and since Brooke wasn't picking up her phone, Haley found herself worrying.

She rang the doorbell hesitantly hoping that her father wasn't around. The door opened and Haley found herself face to face with Gloria Davis.

"Is Brooke here?"

Gloria nodded. "She's in her room."

Haley took the stairs two at a time and reached Brooke's room within seconds. Her door was closed and Haley knocked softly before letting herself in. "Brooke?"

She received a muffled reply. "Go away."

"It's Haley."

Brooke looked up from underneath the covers. "Haley?" Her eyes were red and her cheeks tearstained from crying. "Can you just come back later? I don't really feel like talking."

Haley felt her heart catch as she took in her sister's appearance. It was heartbreaking to see her like this. Haley made her way over to the bed and climbed in, pulling her sister closer to her. "It's going to be okay Brooke, I promise."

Brooke clung to Haley as she started crying again. "How can it be okay when I've lost the only best friend I've ever known and the only boy I've ever loved?"

Haley closed her eyes as she heard the heart wrenching sobs of her sister and the only thing she could do was hold her tight and wish for everything to be okay for her. "I don't know Tigger, but you're going to get through this."

Brooke didn't say anything and the two sisters just lay there as one sought out comfort and the other did whatever she could to give it.


	9. She's Gonna Break Soon

Chapter Title is by Less than Jake

**Chapter Nine: She's Gonna Break Soon **

Haley woke up the next morning not knowing exactly where she was. She glanced around the spacious room before realizing just exactly where she was. She glanced next to her where Brooke was sleeping peacefully. Haley couldn't help but worry a bit for her twin. After all they had been through, this was something she didn't want Brooke dealing with and now, they both had to deal with Lucas and Peyton's actions.

Suddenly Brooke rolled over and sighed. "Ugh, what time is it?"

Haley glanced at the clock. It was way too early for either of them to be up. "It's 6:04."

"Why are you up?" Brooke groaned when she heard the time.

Haley shrugged and moved from her side so they were both lying on their backs facing the ceiling. "I guess I couldn't sleep. Why are you awake?"

"I don't know," Brooke sounded a little confused. She glanced over as Haley. "I just had this bad dream, you know where my boyfriend and my best friend are sneaking around my back," She laughed bitterly. "Oh wait, it wasn't a dream."

"Brooke," Haley looked over at her. She wasn't surprised to see tearstains and bloodshot eyes. "Things are going to get better. I know they are."

Brooke sighed and shook her head, "I really don't think that's gonna happen, at least anytime soon."

Haley knew that anything else she said was just going to fall on deaf ears. Brooke wasn't in the position to see past anything she didn't want to see. "Tigger?"

It was silent for a few seconds before Haley heard a reply. "Yeah?"

"You know that I'm here for you, right?" Haley desperately wanted to make sure that Brooke knew this if she ever found out that Haley knew about Lucas' and Peyton's little affair.

"Yeah Tutor Girl," Brooke couldn't help the smile that came to her face. "I know."

Haley smiled, "Good."

The twins fell silent as each got lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Brooke fell across something she hadn't thought of before. "Haley?"

Haley raised an eyebrow, she didn't think she'd ever heard Brooke call her by her full name before. "Yeah?"

Brooke took a deep breath before sitting up so she was looking down at her sister. "Did you know?"

"Yeah," Haley refused to meet Brooke's eyes in fear of seeing the betrayal and hurt that was inevitably there. "I knew."

"You knew?" Brooke felt like it was a blow to her heart. Even though she had her suspicions, she never thought they would turn out to be true. "You knew, and you never told me?"

Haley sat up quickly, "Brooke, it wasn't like we were that good of friends before we found out we were twins, I never thought it was my place to tell you."

But Brooke wasn't hearing any of this. She got up from the bed and started pacing the room angrily, something she only did when she wasn't sure of anything. "I can't believe this. Who else has been lying to me?"

"It's not that we were lying Br…" Haley started.

"You were lying!" Brooke interrupted, almost yelling. "It's like I can't trust anyone anymore."

Haley was starting to realize just where she went wrong. "Tigger, you have to understand, no one wanted to hurt you, that's why I told Lucas to break things off."

Brooke stopped pacing. "So you knew about this for a while then? Long enough that you had enough of their affair?"

Haley nodded, "And he told me he stopped. That's the day we found out about our parents."

"I can't believe this," Brooke started pacing again. Haley watched her with fear in her eyes, not knowing what exactly the other girl was going to do or say. "How long was he cheating on me?"

Haley looked away. "Two months."

"And how long did you know?" Brooke's eyes hardened.

"A month," Haley whispered, her voice so low, Brooke had to strain to hear her. Haley almost felt ashamed for what Lucas and Peyton had been doing, almost like if was her fault.

Brooke stood there silently before looking back up at Haley. Her eyes watered with unshed tears as they threatened to fall. "Leave."

"Brooke…" Haley pleaded. "You have to understand."

"I said…leave," Brooke's voice broke and Haley had to use all her energy not to envelop her sister in her arms. Instead Haley nodded, not saying a word and left Brooke's room, leaving Brooke to feel alone for the first time in her life.

Brooke slumped to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chin finally letting free the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

* * *

Later on after school had ended, Haley went to the Rivercourt and sat on one of the benches hoping to clear her mind. She had stayed away from everybody, choosing to eat lunch in the library and staying quiet in all of her classes. It was clear to her that Brooke wasn't going to school and in some ways she was glad that her sister didn't have to deal with the workings of the 'good ol' gang' right now.

"Hales?"

Haley turned around at her name and saw Lucas, Nathan, Fergie, and Skills walking towards her while a basketball was being tossed between the four of them.

Nathan reached her first, worry evident all over his face, "Haley, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Haley gave him what she hoped was a sincere smile and her eyes hardened when she saw Lucas heading over to her. "I think I should go."

"Don't leave," Lucas demanded. "What's going on?"

Haley shook her head, not believing that he didn't know. "I don't have the energy to deal with you today Lucas, I had a rough night."

Fergie looked between Haley and Lucas who were having a sort of glaring fight. "What's going on?"

"Brooke found out about Peyton and Lucas," Haley told them bitterly, turning her gaze away from Lucas. "And I was comforting her all night as she wondered why she wasn't good enough for him."

Lucas felt like someone had punched him. "She really feels like that?"

"Lucas, you cheated on her with her best friend!" Haley exclaimed. She felt Nathan grab onto her arm, knowing that she was liable to jump her best friend. "How could she not be feeling that way?"

"Wait a minute," Skills stepped in between the fighting friends and held his arms out. "Why were you with Brooke, I thought you didn't like her."

Haley felt Nathan try not to laugh at his words and finally cracked a smile, "I thought you knew that Brooke and I were twins?"

Skills raised his eyebrow, "And where I am when everything juicy happens?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. His friend could be so gossipy at times. "She can tell you that later after she tells me why she was ignoring me today."

"Us," Nathan jumped in. "Why she was ignoring all of us today."

Haley sighed. She realized that Nathan still had a firm grip around her arm. "I just wasn't in the mood to socialize. Brooke and I got into a fight this morning and she kicked me out of her house, I just don't know what to do anymore."

She glanced up at Lucas as all of her anger seemed to come back. "This is all your fault!" She moved out of Nathan's hold and started poking Lucas in the chest. "If you had kept your promise to me, then Brooke would have never seen you and Peyton making out and I wouldn't be in this situation!"

"Haley," Nathan grabbed her away from Lucas and turned her around so she was facing him. "Calm down."

She took a couple of deep breaths as she gazed into Nathan's calming blue eyes. "Okay. I'm calm." She turned back to Lucas, "I don't want to do this now." And with those words, Haley walked off, leaving the four boys to stare at her retreating figure.

Seconds later, Haley felt a hand grab hers and she knew instantly who it was. They walked in silence before Haley finally spoke up. "What are you doing Nathan?"

"It's getting dark," He explain softly. "I don't want you walking by yourself."

She nodded, understanding, and they continued walking towards her house. Finally they reached it quickly and Haley turned to her friend, glad that he had turned out to be so great to her after they had broken up.

And then, as she turned slowly, his lips were on hers and she wasted no time in responding as she put her arms around his neck pulling him in closer to her. She couldn't believe how much she missed kissing him, how much it meant to her to be in his arms, just how much she loved him.

Nathan pulled away slowly, resting his forehead on hers, "This is killing me Haley." He took her hands in his, "I want to be with you."

She smiled up at him. This is what she had been waiting for, "I want to be with you too Nathan."

Nathan pulled her into a hug, surprising her with his actions. He had never been this sweet to her before. "Things are going to get better for you."

Haley didn't respond as she settled into his chest, breathing in the familiar scent of the man she loved. She could only wish that he was right.


	10. Hanging On For Hope

A/N- Thanks for all the reviews!

Chapter Title is by The New Amsterdams

**Chapter Ten: Hanging On For Hope **

Brooke groaned as she came to and glanced at the clock to find that it was 7:01. She realized that she had to go to school instead of skipping another day. She would have paid no attention to even thinking of going to school when she felt like this but she could hear her father downstairs and knew that she couldn't hang around there if she wanted to avoid him.

"Ugh," Brooke groaned again and made herself get up. "I do _not _want to deal with this today."

She got dressed slowly and walked out of her room and out the door not bothering to eat breakfast. She sighed as she got in her car and she knew it was going to be a long day.

The first person Brooke saw when she got to her parking spot was her sister, more importantly she saw her sister exchange a loving look with her ex-boyfriend. She could see Lucas standing in front of them, oblivious to their gazes and then it hit her that they had gotten back together.

Brooke sighed again, once more she was left out of the loop. She slammed her door loudly and started walking toward the school deliberately passing the small group of people she thought she knew.

"Brooke," Haley noticed. Brooke ignored her calls and kept walking still not wanting to deal with her sister. "Brooke, wait!"

Brooke turned around and was instantly face to face with her twin. "Give me one good reason why I would wait for you Haley?"

Haley tried not to frown when she saw the hurt and anger in Brooke's eyes, "Because I'm your sister."

Brooke's eyes softened at her words. "I can't do this right now Haley. Just give me some time."

And before Haley could say anything else, Brooke walked off leaving the other girl standing there alone watching her go.

"She's going to be okay Hales," Nathan told her as he walked up next to her and took her hand leading her inside the school. As she glanced around the empty schoolyard, she realized the bell had rung.

Haley nodded. "I really hope so Nathan."

* * *

Haley tapped her pen on the desk not paying any attention to what the teacher was saying, which while not unusual for a high school student, it was unusual for her. She glanced to her right and saw Brooke sitting there expressionless, just staring at the teacher. Haley sighed as she took in Brooke's appearance, it was obvious that something was wrong in her life but nobody knew, nobody could possibly know. 

As the teacher droned on about astronomy, Haley's thoughts shifted over to Nathan who was sitting in the corner of the room, half asleep. She smiled at the thought of what was said between them and she knew that this was right for her. She loved him with everything she had and there was no doubt in her mind that they were going to end up together anyway.

Suddenly the bell rang surprising Haley out of her thoughts and she watched Brooke grab her stuff and walk out of the classroom quickly. "Brooke!"

"Haley," Brooke sighed as she turned around. "Why can't you understand that I don't want to do this now?" She closed her eyes for a second, "I just want to get through the day and then we can talk."

"Promise?" Haley lifted up her pinky.

Brooke stared at Haley's hand before bringing hers up and linking them together. "Promise."

Haley sighed as she watched Brooke walk away, no longer the perky cheerleader they had all become used to. It saddened her to see Brooke this way and she vowed she would do anything she could to make her sister at least a little bit happier than she was now.

Peyton caught their little exchange and she knew she had to do something. While Brooke had a reason to be angry at her and Lucas, she shouldn't have been angry at Haley, who was only trying to make things better for the whole group.

She walked over to her locker and was surprised to see Lucas standing there, bags under his eyes. He had obviously not gotten any sleep by his appearance.

"What are you doing?" Peyton hissed at him. "You really think it's a smart idea to be hanging around me? What if Brooke see us?"

"I don't know what to do Peyton." Lucas ignored her words. He needed help. "Brooke won't answer my calls, Haley's furious at me. I just don't know what to do."

Haley cleared her throat from behind him. "I think you should listen to Peyton and stay away from her for a while."

Lucas turned around quickly and was met by Haley's steely glare. "She already knows Haley, it's not like we're hiding anything anymore."

"It probably hurts to see you two together, even just talking." Haley rationalized. "I mean, you both know how Brooke is." She stopped talking when she saw Brooke heading their way.

Brooke watched them as they tried to not glance at her as she deliberately ignored them on the way to lunch. No way was she going to sit with them but no way was she going to eat lunch in the bathroom. Haley shot her a smile and Brooke knew that she was just trying to help and she appreciated the gesture. She gave Haley a small smile before walking away.

"At least you're getting through to her," Lucas noticed the two sisters. "She won't listen to me Haley!"

Haley glared at him. "You cheated on her with her best friend, you really expect for her to want to talk to you?" She saw that Peyton was going to say something, "And Peyton, don't even get me started on you."

And with those words, Haley walked away and into the lunch room where Nathan, Tim, and Jake were all waiting at their table. Lucas and Peyton each sighed as Peyton closed her locker and they followed her in noticing that Brooke had chosen to sit with the cheerleaders and Haley had taken a spot between Jake and Nathan with Tim in front of her.

This was going to be a long lunch.

* * *

Hours after school ended, Brooke found herself sitting by the docks staring out into the peaceful calm of the ocean. She couldn't go home, she couldn't go to Peyton's or Lucas', and she couldn't make herself go to Haley's just yet. She was alone and at this point she didn't know who could help her. 

"It's pretty out here, isn't it?"

Brooke's head shot up at the voice. "Yeah."

Nathan sat next to her and they just sat there in silence as Nathan bounced his basketball periodically. Finally Brooke had enough. "What are you doing here Nathan?"

Nathan sighed, "Haley's worried about you Brooke, we all are."

"Yeah," Brooke nodded absently. "Congratulations by the way." She noticed his confused look. "On you and Haley getting back together."

"How…how did you know?" Nathan sounded surprised. He and Haley had agreed to wait until the whole thing with Brooke, Lucas, and Peyton was over to announce that they were back together.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "It's so obvious." She glanced at Nathan. "Come on, you and Tutor Girl are like the perfect couple, you guys can't break up without getting back together later!"

"Um, thank you?" Nathan shrugged. He didn't know how to respond to that. "Are you going to be okay?"

Brooke sighed. She didn't want to do this right now but she knew Nathan. She knew that he wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. "I will be."

Nathan bounced his basketball once more before speaking again. "Haley's really worried about you Brooke; she thinks you can't come to her with this." He paused. "She needs you too Brooke, especially now. You two need to be strong and stick together through all of this."

Brooke didn't realize she had tears in her eyes until he finished speaking. "I know."

"Ok and that's my cue to leave," Nathan looked up and saw Haley standing there with a smile on her face. "I'll see you around Brooke." And with those words, he stood up, gave Haley a kiss and walked off.

Brooke watched him leave and stared at Haley, who didn't leave her spot. She had to smile at Haley's stubbornness. "You can sit down; I'm not going to bite."

Haley grinned as she sat down. "You gonna stop pushing me out?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow at her bold question. It wasn't like Haley to be so out there. "Yeah."

"Good," Haley linked her arm through Brooke's. "Because believe it or not Tigger, I actually missed you.'

Brooke had to laugh at that. "It's only been like a day Hales."

"I know," Haley shrugged. "But no one else is as cheery as you are and they kinda all brought me down." She noticed that Brooke's demeanor around her was starting to change. "So what are you gonna do now?"

"About what?" Brooke glanced at her sister.

Haley knitted her eyebrows, "About the living situation." Brooke's face fell, she probably hadn't even thought of that. "You can always come stay with me until I figure out what I'm gonna do."

"Thanks Tutor girl, but I think I'm just gonna stay at my house," Brooke shrugged. "I mean Dad is probably going to be leaving soon and I'll have the house all to myself again."

"You're not alone in this Tigger," Haley told her softly. "It's me and you now, remember?"

Brooke let out a soft laugh, "I know Hales, and I don't know if I ever told you this, but I'm glad that out of all the surprises in the world, you turning out to be my twin sister, is my favorite."

Haley smiled. "Ditto." She nudged Brooke softly with her shoulder, "So what do you say we go get some ice cream and watch a chick flick and take our minds off of everything else?"

"Okay," Brooke nodded. She felt Haley stand up and take her with her. She watched Haley let out a laugh and hugged her slowly. "Thanks Haley."

Haley hugged her back. "Anytime Brooke."

The two sisters pulled away from each other and started walking back into town. Together.


	11. Closer To You

A/N- Wow, I didn't expect so many reviews for that past couple chapters, you guys are amazing, I really appreciate everything. If you can believe it, this story is almost done. I was only planning on writing 15 chapters and we're almost there. Anyway, on to the chapter.

Chapter title is by Brandi Carlile

**Chapter 11: Closer To You **

Haley rolled over and groaned when her hand hit something solid. She risked opening her eyes and saw her sister lying there next to her, passed out. "Brooke?" She pushed her sister, waiting for the other girl to wake up. "What happened?"

Brooke turned to her side as she woke up slowly. "Why are you hitting me?"

"Why are you here?" Haley asked another question. She soon realized they weren't going to get any answers if all they kept doing was asking questions.

"We stayed up all night watching movies," Brooke explained sleepily. She closed her eyes as she could feel the sleep overcome her. "And now it's…" She checked her watch. "It's 10:30 and we missed school."

Haley eyes fluttered open. "What?"

"Relax Tutor Girl," Brooke let out a soft laugh. "It's Friday, three day weekend!"

"Only you would say something like that," Haley retorted quietly. She realized that they were in her room after glancing around. They must have stayed up pretty late if it disoriented her this much. "Whatever."

"Whatever?" Brooke repeated skeptically. "Did you really just say 'whatever' to missing school?" She smiled widely, showing off her dimples. "I knew there would come a day where I could say I've corrupted you."

Haley glanced over to her, "I skip school."

"Liar," Brooke threw back at her, the smile on her face never faltering. She laid back down so she was facing the ceiling and she could feel Haley do the same as silence took over the room. "Tutor girl skipping school to hang out with Brooke Davis…unbelievable."

Haley had to smile, that was still pretty unbelievable. "Yeah, who would have guessed that a week ago, my father…" She quoted with her fingers. "…was still alive and we disliked each other, and now, I found out my dead father is not my real father and you're my twin sister, weird."

Brooke glanced at her like if she was crazy. "That was a whole lot of incomprehensible rambling right there Hales."

"Incomprehensible?" Haley raised an eyebrow, "You know big words?"

"Ha," Brooke deadpanned. She rolled her eyes before getting up from the bed. "Just because I'm a cheerleader doesn't mean that I'm dumb."

Haley laughed, "I never said you were dumb, I just couldn't believe you knew such big words."

Brooke stared at Haley, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing again, before grabbing her pillow and smacking her over the head with it.

"Hey," Haley protested, "What was that for?"

Brooke shrugged before giving Haley an innocent smile, "Felt like it."

Suddenly a knock from the door silenced the two girls. Brooke glanced at Haley and Haley could have sworn she almost saw fear in her eyes. She smiled warmly at her and took her hand. "It's okay."

The door opened to reveal Taylor, who was still in her pajamas, "Hey Haley-bub, I was jus…" Her voice trailed off when she saw Brooke sitting there next to her sister. She could see Haley breathe out a sigh of relief before waving her in.

"Hey Tay," Haley smiled at the rhyme, "Come and join us."

Taylor shrugged and hopped on the edge of the bed near their feet. "Hey Brooke."

"Hey," Brooke responded, pulling the covers over her as she watch the girl sit down. She glanced at Haley who grinned at their older sister.

"How'd you know we were in here and not at school Tay?" Haley asked, watching her sister gaze right back at her. "I mean, you weren't here last night when Brooke and I came in and I doubt you come into my room when I'm not here so…"

Taylor put her hands up to surrender, "I heard voices, and I was curious. Leave me alone Hay."

Brooke stifled a laugh at the older girl's expense. "Relax Tutor girl."

"You're supposed to be on my side Tigger," Haley tried to frown. Inside, she was jumping up and down for joy that Brooke wasn't afraid to be around Taylor. She knew that Brooke would never forgive Lydia for giving her up just like she probably would never forgive Mark Davis, but it was something else that Brooke felt comfortable around Haley's favorite sibling, other than Brooke of course.

"I don't chose sides," Brooke shrugged playfully. "People come to me."

Taylor laughed, "My kind of girl."

Brooke smiled at that before leaning back against the headboard. "So what's on the list for today Hales? Please tell me it's something good."

Haley raised her eyebrows, "List? I don't do lists."

"Yeah right Haley-bub," Taylor rolled her eyes. "You have nothing planned out for today? Or even the weekend for that matter?"

"I _was_ planning on going to school today but that was kinda shot down considering the fact that we just woke up," Haley thought aloud not realizing that the other two girls in the room were biting their lips to keep from laughing. "And I have a shift later on, but nothing planned."

Finally Brooke couldn't take it anymore as she burst out in giggles, "We're just teasing you Haley."

Haley couldn't help but turn a little red, "I knew that."

"Yeah, okay," Taylor grinned at her little sister before she had a thought. "So wait a minute," She paused, looking at them both and motioning at them, "Who's older?"

Haley and Brooke exchanged a look before Brooke pouted and Haley grinned back at Taylor, "I am."

"Really?" Taylor looked at Haley in surprise. "I thought Brooke would have been older."

"See!" Brooke motioned at Taylor, "Everyone knew I should have been older."

Haley knitted her eyebrows in confusion, "Are you saying that I wouldn't make a good big sister?"

Taylor and Brooke glanced at each other before simultaneously exclaiming, "Yes."

"Thanks a lot you guys," Haley put her hand over her heart, pretending to be upset. "I see how you think of me." Brooke patted her shoulder in fake sympathy. "I'll have you know that I can be the protective big sister for once."

Brooke held back a smile, "If it's any comfort to you, I think you're a pretty cool big sister."

"It is comforting, thank you," Haley looked up at her with her famous pout.

Taylor had to laugh, she had to admit that her two younger sisters were very amusing. She noticed them staring at her. "What!"

"Why are you laughing at us?" Haley asked innocently, her brown eyes amused.

"You guys are so cute together," Taylor explained. "Considering you guys only found out less than a week ago that you were twin sisters, you seem pretty close now."

Brooke glanced over at Haley who seemed to be hiding her emotions. She couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness that not only had she become closer to her sister, but that someone else could see it too. And she also couldn't help the wide grin that came to her face after she heard Taylor's words.

Haley watched as Brooke broke out into a grin at the words, and she felt a feeling of peace as if this was something that she needed in her life, someone that was quickly becoming one of the few people she could run to in this world, and someone who was already in the small circle that consisted of her world. "Thank you."

Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Thank you?"

"It's a compliment," Haley shrugged, "And it's a good one."

Brooke nodded as she linked her arm through Haley's, bringing them closer on the bed. "This past week has been hell for me and Haley's been there to comfort me and just help me get through the day, and I know we've gotten way closer than I ever thought we would be and I'm just glad that it's noticeable."

"Yeah," Haley nodded at Brooke, "What she said."

Taylor rolled her eyes at Haley before biting her lip slowly. She had come into Haley's room for a reason but she really didn't want to tell them why. Haley, however, caught the expression on Taylor's face and she could feel her good mood dissolving. Something had to be up.

"What's going on Taylor?" Haley finally asked, not waiting for the older girl to speak.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Taylor whispered. She glanced at Brooke, who seemed a little disappointed and then back at Haley, who felt her heart drop at the words.

Haley let go of Brooke's hand as Taylor's words washed over her. This wasn't going along with her plan. She had figured that Taylor would be around longer now even though she knew that she had no reason to believe that. Taylor had always been a free spirit, ready to leave Tree Hill as soon as she graduated with no plans of returning. "Tomorrow? That soon?"

Taylor gave her a weak smile before taking both of Haley's hands in hers. "I have school Haley-bub and work now, I have to go back."

Haley nodded unconsciously as she felt Brooke move closer to her. "No, I understand. I was just hoping you were gonna stick around, for me…and for Brooke too."

"I wanted to Hay," Taylor couldn't believe how calm her sister was being. "But my life is in New York and I can't just put that on hold." She glanced at Brooke who clearly had no idea what was going to happen after Taylor left. "Besides, Brooke's going to be there for you now, it's not like you're going to be alone."

"I know," Haley's voice got low. "I guess that means I'm moving out sooner than I thought."

Taylor knitted her eyebrows, she hadn't been expecting that. "What!"

"Yeah," Haley gave a small laugh as she shrugged. "The only reason I wanted to stay around here was because of you. I can't be around Mom right now."

"Where are you gonna go?" Taylor looked at Brooke who shook her head in confusion.

Haley pulled away from Taylor, "Nathan said I could live with him, I think I might do that." She looked down at her hands. "Graduation is in eight months, I can't be here that long especially since she said she was planning on sticking around."

Taylor and Brooke shook their heads before Taylor spoke up. "No way are Mom and Mr. Davis going to let you live with Nathan."

Haley knitted her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"Because he's a guy Haley," Brooke pointed out.

Haley's eyes widened dramatically, "No way!" She rolled her eyes before shrugging. "I don't see what the big deal is."

Brooke shook her head at Haley's use of sarcasm, "You really think they're gonna let you live with Nathan, who's not only just a boy but also your boyfriend?"

Taylor held up her hands before Haley could respond. "Hold up. You and Nathan got back together and you didn't tell me?"

"I was gonna tell you," Haley gave them a small blush, "We just wanted to keep it secret for a little while."

"Still," Taylor continued, "It's not gonna happen Haley-bub."

Haley sighed but she didn't say anything more, not wanting to get into an argument with her sister. She just nodded along as both Brooke and Taylor realized she didn't want to talk anymore.

Suddenly Taylor jumped up from the bed, "I just remembered I had something to do." And with those words she bounded out of the room leaving both little sisters puzzled with her actions.

As the two of them stared at the door, Haley couldn't help but start laughing and soon Brooke joined in, both not realizing that something was about to change.

* * *

Taylor bounced down the stairs as soon as she realized she needed to talk to her mother about her plans for leaving the next day. What she didn't realize was that her mother was on the phone with Mark Davis. Taylor stood outside the door waiting for the conversation to end but silently wondering what was going on.

"I already told you Mark! She's here and she's safe," Lydia's voice came out sounding irritated, as if this wasn't the first time she had said those words. "I know it's not fair that she came over here but Haley's here, that could be the reason."

The room was silent as Taylor itched to hear Mark's reply

"What are you saying?" Lydia sounded outraged. "Of course they're your children Mark! Do you really think I would have lied to you about something like this?"

Taylor slunk down the wall as she heard the words. She had never thought of that. What if Mark Davis wasn't Haley and Brooke's father and Lydia James had made a very big mistake? What if they were really James children all along? All Taylor knew was that she wasn't going to sit around playing what if any longer.


	12. Staring At The Sun

A/N- Chapter one's title song is "Over My Head" by Semisonic

Chapter title is Staring At the Sun by Rooster

**Chapter Twelve: Staring At The Sun **

Taylor figured she had heard enough and opened the door revealing herself to her mother. She could see Lydia's shocked expression and knew that she had been caught.

Lydia glanced at her nervously before turning back to her conversation. "I'll have to call you back." And with those words, she hung up the phone leaving the room in silence as mother and daughter stared at each other.

"Is Mark their father?"

"Yes," Lydia spoke surely of herself as she started walking away from the desk toward the door, toward Taylor. "I don't know what you heard Taylor but yes Mark Davis is their father."

"I want you to do a paternity test," Taylor spoke the words before the thought had even crossed her mind. She didn't want her sisters to go through the rest of their lives living another lie.

Lydia's brown eyes narrowed on Taylor's. "Don't you think that's a bit drastic? I already told you." She watched as Taylor shook her head.

"What if you're wrong?" Taylor questioned, not wanting to gaze into her mother's eyes, the same eyes that Haley had, that if used just right could make Taylor do anything she wanted.

Lydia gave her a small, tired smile, "What if I'm right and you just threw the twins an unnecessary curveball, Taylor?"

Taylor tried her hardest not to smile at the her use of the word twins. That's what they were now, they were Brooke and Haley, her younger twin sisters. "I think you should do it anyway. I'll talk to them about it."

And with that, Taylor left the room leaving her mother to wonder when she had gotten so protective over her sisters. She went up the stairs slowly wondering just exactly how she was going to tell Haley and Brooke of what she had just heard. She heard laughter coming from Haley's room and couldn't help but smile at the noise. Just as long as the both of them were together, they would be alright.

"Taylor!"

Haley's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she realized she was standing outside of her door. "What Hay?"

Haley had to bite back the smile that was threatening to form, "I just asked you three times if you wanted to go to the mall with Brooke and me."

"Uh, sure," Taylor nodded; maybe she would be able to tell them there. This was after all pretty big. "Just let me get dressed." She watched Haley nod in reply before taking off towards her room.

Brooke cast Haley a weird look, "What's up with her?"

Haley had to laugh, "She's always like that."

"Scary," Brooke's eyes widened dramatically before she smiled. "And we're related?" She could help but giggled. "Never thought I'd get to say that."

"Me either," Haley agreed. She glanced back toward Taylor's room, "Me either."

* * *

Three hours later, Haley and Taylor were dragging their feet wanting to go home already. They were tired and drained of shopping and they could take no more. Brooke, however, was still going.

"I love this store!" Brooke cheered as she went in, leaving her two sisters behind her.

Taylor glanced at Haley wearily, "Where the hell does she get all this energy from?"

"She's like the freakin' energizer bunny," Haley muttered. "She just keeps going and going and going."

She sighed. "I have a shift in two hours, and I don't think my feet can take anymore."

"Stop complaining Tutor girl!" Brooke exclaimed from a dressing room. "You're a waitress, you should be used to being on your feet this long."

Taylor shot Haley an amused glance. "Tutor girl?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Don't ask. She thinks it's highly creative." She let out a smile as she turned back to her twin. "I think my legs are going to revolt, Tigger!"

Taylor choked back a laugh. "You guys are way too funny. Tigger, Tutor girl?" She shook her head. "And your legs can't revolt Haley, that would be completely impossible."

"Anything's possible Tay," Haley gave her a wink before turning back to Brooke who was stepping out of the dressing room.

"How do I look?" Brooke spun around, showing off the dress she was wearing. "It's not too much, is it?" She shrugged to herself as she look in the mirror before answering her own question. "Nope, it's perfect!"

Haley nodded in agreement. "You look great." Suddenly a passing figure caught her eye through the mirror. What were they doing here? Last she checked, there was still school going on.

Brooke's eyes narrowed as she saw her former best friend and former ex standing outside the store. "What are they doing here?" She didn't turn around. "They are about the last two people I'd ever expect to be hanging out at the mall after ditching school."

Taylor glanced back and forth between the twins before turning around to see just exactly what they were staring at. She suddenly noticed Haley's hottie of a best friend and her new curly-haired friend. "Hey isn't that Lu…"

"Yes it is," Haley hissed. She pulled Taylor away from Brooke who had gone back into the dressing room to change. "Luke was Brooke's boyfriend until she caught him cheating on her with her best friend." She pointed over to Peyton. "And there they are, together."

Taylor's eyes widened. "Ouch."

"Yeah, which is why we have to leave," Haley explained.

Taylor nodded in agreement. "Say Brooke, what do you say we go get lunch at Karen's? That way we can finally eat and Haley-bub won't have to whine about being late."

"Sounds good to me," Brooke shrugged. She smiled slyly to herself when she saw that Lucas and Peyton had disappeared.

Taylor smiled. "Good."

* * *

"Karen, everything was delicious," Taylor praised as the older woman came to check up on everything. "No wonder Haley practically lives here."

Karen gave Taylor a smile before turning back to Haley who was deep in conversation with Brooke. "Thank you Taylor."

Suddenly the door swung open and the bell rang revealing Lucas who was all sweaty from playing basketball at the rivercourt. Brooke winced at the sight of him and made a point of ignoring him while talking to Haley.

"You can't ignore him forever, you know," Haley told her quietly as she glanced over at her best friend. "He's going to want to talk to you." Before Brooke could respond, Haley continued. "I know it's not what you want to hear and don't get so defensive, I'm just trying to help you."

Brooke let out a sigh, it sucked that Haley knew how she was going to react before she ever said anything. "It's only been a couple days Tutor girl, I can be mad for that long, right?" She sent her sister an amused smirk.

Before Haley could reply, the door swung open again and this time Mark Davis stalked in. He spotted Taylor and his eyes narrowed, surprising both Brooke and Haley. "Dad?"

Mark nodded toward Brooke but didn't reply. "How dare you think that Brooke and Haley weren't my daughters? It's bad enough that they've both refused to live with me, but now I have to get a paternity test to prove that they don't want to live with their own father? You have no right."

Haley's eyes widened and Brooke's jaw dropped. What the hell was going on? Even Lucas seemed surprised by the older man's outburst. But of course, Taylor was already in step to argue with him.

"I overheard you and my mother talking about that this morning," Taylor shot back. "And even you weren't too sure of it either. Gotta say, this has been a pretty sucky week for you."

Mark shook his head angrily. "This isn't any of your business Taylor."

"You're wrong Mr. Davis," Taylor retorted. "Haley and now Brooke are my sisters, my _baby_ sisters, and I want to make sure that they're okay, especially before I leave. So this is my business."

Mark glanced down at Brooke and Haley who were sitting side by side in the booth. "As far as I'm concerned Taylor, this particular issue has nothing to do with you."

"Everything that concerns them is important to me," Taylor replied, her eyes catching Haley's for a second before turning back to Mark. "Between Haley moving out, Brooke moving out and the issue of their father, I'd have to say that I'm allowed to voice my opinion."

Haley's eyes widened at Taylor's words. She didn't want her father to know that she was moving out. "Taylor!"

"What Haley?" Taylor focused on her sister, "I didn't tell him you were moving in with Nathan."

Brooke let out a smile. Taylor could screw things up with the best of them and though she hadn't believed Haley when she told her, she definitely believed it now. "Nice, Taylor."

Lucas was the first to react. "You're moving in with Nathan?"

Haley shot him a glare. This was more than she wanted to handle in one day. There was no way that she could fix this now. "Not now Lucas."

"Who's Nathan?" Mark glanced between Lucas and Brooke before settling on Haley. "You're not moving in with a boy Haley." He caught the small blush creeping up his daughter's face. "Especially not your boyfriend."

"You guys are back together?" Lucas got off the stool and moved closer to the drama. "Why didn't you tell me Haley? I'm your best friend."

Haley sighed, "I was going to tell you Lucas but can we please do this later?" She shot Brooke a look.

"I think you need to go," Brooke understood immediately and turned to her father. "Haley and I will come to you with our own opinions when we want, and leave Taylor alone." She watched her father nod helplessly and walk out of the café before turning to Lucas with a stony glare. "And you need to mind your own business."

"Brooke, I…" Lucas' speech was interrupted as Peyton stepped through the doorway. She caught sight of Lucas, Brooke, and Haley by the window before taking a deep breathe and walking over to them.

Haley's eyes widened and she just couldn't believe her unfortunate luck of living in this dramatic town. It was definitely getting ridiculous. She kicked Taylor under the table and forced the older girl to look at her. They both knew they had to get Brooke out of there before she did or said anything she would regret.

"We need to talk," Peyton cleared her voice as she reached them.

Brooke's eyes narrowed, "We have nothing to talk about." She stood up. "And I would prefer it if you didn't try to speak to me again."

"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed as she watched the brunette leave the café. She felt Haley's hand on her shoulder and turned around.

"You need to give her some time and space Peyton," Haley told her quietly. She nodded to her sister before turning back to her friend. "There's no way you can try to fix this right now." She glanced at Lucas. "I'll call you later."

As they left, following in the steps of Brooke who was waiting for them by Taylor's car, Lucas and Peyton were left standing there not looking at each other before finally one of them spoke. "What the hell were we thinking?"


	13. Up and Go

A/N- lyrics used are from "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls and "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw.

Chapter Title is "Up and Go" by The Starting Line

**Chapter Thirteen: Up and Go **

"_And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand…_" Haley sang softly as she wiped down the counter of the café. It was late on the cold Saturday night, weeks after the little incident with her father, and she was closing down the café where she willingly spent all her time. "_When everything's made to be broken, I just want you to know who I am._"

Things had gotten effectively worse between Brooke, Lucas, and Peyton and there was nothing Haley could do for them. She couldn't force Brooke to do something she didn't want to do and she couldn't go back in time to stop Lucas from cheating on Brooke. Things had also gotten worse with her mother after Haley had told her the news of moving out to live with Nathan. Though she hadn't regretted leaving her childhood home, she couldn't help but remember the look of devastation on Lydia's face as she told her.

Haley sighed as she flipped the switch to the coffee maker, turning it off. Brooke's living situation hadn't gotten any better since their last conversation with their father. She was still living at her house since predictably, their father had gone off on his business trips and had taken his wife with him. Though she had gotten a job working at a new store at the mall, she didn't make enough to be able to rent an apartment and keep rent. Though Haley had offered to move in with her, Brooke insisted on being able to save enough to at least be able to do it by herself for a little bit. While that had surprised her, Haley could honestly say that she was proud of Brooke for becoming independent after being so dependent on her father's money all her life.

As Haley glanced around the small café and saw her work cut out for her as all the dirty dishes seemed to have piled up throughout the night, she couldn't help but smile to herself. Living with Nathan was different, to say the least, but it was interesting and surprisingly fun. As a boy, he was kind of sloppy but she was used to that with having two messy brothers and a messy sister growing up.

She turned on the water in the sink and began singing again as she started to clean. "_It was labor day weekend, I was seventeen_." She started humming to herself as she continued singing. "_I bought a coke and some gasoline. And I drove out to the county fair."_

"I would have never pegged you as a country fan."

Haley turned around surprised, dropping the plate she was cleaning into the water and putting her hand over her heart. "You scared me."

His blue eyes twinkled in amusement. "Is that all I do?"

She couldn't help the smile that came to her face as he stepped closer to her. "No."

"Gotta say Hales, you have a beautiful voice," Nathan smiled softly, grabbing a dish from next to her and started cleaning with her. "How come you never told me you can sing?"

Haley shrugged as they started working side by side moving through the dishes quickly. "I guess it never came up. It's not something I like to show other people."

He nudged her softly, "Well I think you should."

"Nathan," Haley shook her head, "I'm not that good." She shot him a look that she didn't want to talk about it anymore.

He nodded, sighing as he got the message. He would have to continue this conversation some other time. Finally he grinned. "So Tim McGraw, huh? Whatever happened to that crap you and Lucas listen to?"

Haley rolled her eyes, "My dad…" She caught herself quickly. "Jimmy…" There was no way she could ever get comfortable calling the man who she thought was her father by his first name. It didn't seem right to her when all he had ever done with unconditionally love her. "He used to listen to country music all the time, but he loved Tim McGraw the most and I guess now that he's gone, it's just a way to remember him."

"You miss him don't you?" Nathan glanced at her to see that she was focused on cleaning a cup.

Haley nodded as she scrubbed extra hard. "I wish he could be here to help me through this."

"You were a daddy's girl, weren't you?" He teased her quietly. "Man, I'm learning all kinds of things tonight."

"Yeah," Haley nodded again, proudly. "I most definitely was. I was the youngest, he couldn't help it, even if I wasn't biologically his."

Nathan smiled, "I remember he told me that when they came home last year to visit you." He finished his pile of dishes. "He told me to look out for you when he wasn't around, that you were the last one, and he didn't want anything to harm his baby."

Haley couldn't help the tears that started falling down her face. "I can't believe he's gone."

"Hey, come here," Nathan pulled her into his arms, holding on to her tightly as she began to sob into his shirt. "You're gonna get through this, we'll do it together. I'm not gonna leave you Hales, ever."

As they clung to each other, one crying, the other giving all the comfort he knew how, they knew that no matter what happened around them, they had each other and for them that was enough.

* * *

Brooke bounced down the stairs, in a happier mood than she had been in the last few weeks. It seemed that she was tired of moping around and now that basketball was starting, she had something to look forward to. November was always the start of something new for her and this November was no different.

"Brooke?"

"Mom?" Brooke questioned as walked into the kitchen noticing the smell of fresh cookies coming from the oven. She mentally smacked herself as the name came out of her mouth before she could stop it.

Gloria Davis simply smiled as she sat on the counter drinking hot chocolate from a mug that Brooke had made her years ago. "It's okay if you call me that, if Lydia doesn't mind, anyways." She noticed Brooke standing hesitantly by the doorway. "Come in, take a seat."

"What are you doing here?" Brooke walked in slowly, not knowing what the hell was going on. She had never been in this situation before, at least not lately. Her mother was never one to sit around the house and bake cookies. She doubted that Gloria had ever made anything before in her life. Something was going on.

"I didn't feel like going with your father," Gloria shrugged. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and she seemed younger than her 37 years. She noticed the surprised look on her daughter's face. No matter who her biological mother was, Brooke was still her daughter, though she guessed she hadn't done that good a job of being a mother to her. "Don't look so surprised, it happens."

Brooke cracked a smile and took a seat across from her mother. "I guess it's been a long time since we've actually talked."

"A couple years at least," Gloria admitted. "Listen Brooke, I know that I haven't been the best mother to you lately, and now that you have your real mother…"

"You are my mother," Brooke interrupted forcefully. "She's my mother by genetics but she wasn't there when I fell off my bike when I was four and had that huge cut on my leg or when I was ten and I had that ballet recital." She shrugged. "But you were."

Gloria smiled. They had had a good relationship before Mark had gotten promoted in his job and started traveling. That had to have been around the time Brooke was thirteen or so. By then Brooke had felt resentment towards her parents and had effectively shut them out of her life. "Thanks."

"It couldn't have been easy for you, huh?" Brooke continued, looking down at the counter before glancing up into the blue eyes of her mother. "I mean, I wasn't yours and you must have been what, twenty? And stuck with a kid that came out of an affair?"

"It wasn't easy," Gloria admitted. "And when you brought it up after you found out, I guessed I just sort of snapped and let it out on you."

Brooke nodded knowingly. There was no way she could ever forget that day. Though their relationship had turned cold in the last couple of years, she didn't blame the woman in front of her for anything. "I guess." She glanced around the kitchen. "I can't believe you're baking cookies. I didn't even think you knew where the kitchen was."

Gloria laughed. "We used to bake stuff all the time, just me and you."

"Really?" Brooke raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember that."

Gloria nodded. "Yeah, you'd get flour all over you and the kitchen always ended up a mess, but you always enjoyed it." She shrugged. "Now I only do it when I'm bored or really, really worried about something."

"What are you worried about?" Brooke asked offhandedly, sticking her finger in the rest of the batter sitting in a bowl on the counter. "Anything important?"

"Your test on Monday," Gloria glanced at Brooke to see if her words affected her. "If it's really bad news, your father's going to be really upset and he's going to be disappointed." She took a sip of her drink. "He really does love you, you know? You and Haley."

That was the first time she had ever heard Gloria mention her twin sister. Brooke glanced up at her at the words. "You knew about Haley too?"

The blonde-haired woman smiled, "Your father mentioned her once or twice. Lydia would sometimes send him pictures and he would show me."

This was definitely news to Brooke. "This whole situation is screwed up." She sighed. "And you were okay with that?"

"She was technically my step-daughter too," Gloria shrugged in amusement. "And it's not like if I could do anything about it. She was…is your sister and his daughter. There was nothing I could have done about it anyway."

The timer beeped and the older woman stood up and grabbed pot holders taking the cookies out and placing them on the stove top. She grabbed the plate that was previously placed in the freezer out and put two cookies on it before placing it in front of Brooke. Then she grabbed a glass and the gallon of milk and set it in front of her too.

Brooke gave her trademark smile as she poured the milk into the glass and grabbing a cookie before her mother settled herself back on her chair and grabbed the other one. "Mmm. It's good."

"My grandmother made the best oatmeal cookies," Gloria told her as she bit into hers. "And I have to say, learning the recipe was one of the best things I could have ever done."

Brooke nodded in agreement as she finished hers. "Most definitely."

Gloria grinned at her daughter as she finished hers too. As they sat there, each contemplating grabbing another cookie, the mother and daughter relationship had just gotten better for them and as the rest of the afternoon and night passed on, neither of them could argue of that fact.

* * *

Monday came by quickly and Brooke, Haley, Lydia, Mark, and even Gloria were waiting impatiently for their test results as they sat in the waiting room. Haley and Brooke were missing school that morning and neither thought that they would go back after the news, anyway.

Taylor's request of getting a paternity test had stimulated debate between the twins and between their parents and in the end the twins won out, wanting to know for sure that Mark Davis was indeed their father. Though he would always be Brooke's father to her, Haley had a completely different opinion of that.

Haley sat at one end of the room unconsciously tapping her foot in nervousness as she waited to hear of the results. She wished that Nathan was in there with her, he always had a calming affect on her and she could really use that right now. She glanced at Brooke who was sitting next to her mother. They had gotten close that weekend and Haley was honestly glad that Brooke had someone besides her to fall back on. She watched her mother who was sitting on the other side of the room nervously flipping through an old magazine and finally she glanced at Mark who was annoyingly pacing the room.

"Mr. Davis?"

Five heads shot up at the words and they all but Haley stood up to hear the news.

The nurse glanced down at the paper in her hands. "It seems that you are the father of Haley James and Brooke Davis." She handed him the paper and gave the group a smile before walking away.

Haley let out a breathe she hadn't known she was holding in. She couldn't say that she wasn't disappointed in the news but it solved the confusion around everything that was happening to them. She sat there calmly as Brooke let Mark hug her.

Finally Lydia walked over to her. "You okay Haley-bub?"

"I'm fine." Haley nodded to herself as she stood up and walked past her father, her sister, her stepmother. She gave Mark a slight nod and Brooke a tight smile before walking out of the hospital and into the fresh air.

As she decided that she would rather walk home than grab a ride from Brooke, she started on the way back into town but stopped briefly as she heard her sisters voice.

"Hales!" Brooke panted as she caught up to Haley.

Haley had to bite back a smile as she watched Brooke take in a deep breath. "You know that you actually have to be in shape to cheerlead, right?"

Brooke shot her a glare. "What was with you back inside?"

"Nothing," Haley continued to walk, not wanting to go into detail.

"Haley!" Brooke exclaimed. "What's going on?" She put a hand on Haley's shoulder, stopping her from walking any further.

Haley shook her head, "I guess I was just hoping for something different."

Brooke knitted her eyebrows in confusion before she slowly began to understand. "You miss Jimmy, don't you?" She watched the emotions play out on Haley's face. "It's okay to wish that he was biologically your father Hales, I mean he was your father in every other way."

"I guess." Haley shrugged. She didn't want to deal with this right now. "I'm gonna go, okay? Clear my mind and stuff."

"Tutor girl," Brooke called out as Haley began to walk away. The old nickname not having much use in the past couple weeks. "I'll walk with you, I've got some stuff to tell you anyway."

Haley raised an eyebrow before nodding. "What's going on Tigger?"

"I'm gonna spend Thanksgiving with my aunt in New York," Brooke didn't look at Haley as she started speaking. This was something that wasn't going to end very well. "My mom and I are going up there and go shopping and stuff."

"That's cool, Tigger," Haley gave her a small smile. "I didn't really expect you to spend Thanksgiving with us, I mean usually all my…our siblings come down and that's a pain to deal with."

Brooke shook her head before taking a deep breath, "I'm thinking of moving up there."

Haley stopped walking as the words washed over her. "What!" She took a second before speaking again. "You're thinking of what!"

"Things are complicated around here Haley," Brooke gave her a sad smile. She noticed the look Haley was giving her. "Not with you, but with Lucas and Peyton, our mother, our father. I just can't deal with this anymore. I mean, I have my mom but sometimes that's not enough."

"What about me?" Haley's voice was low. "I'm not enough to keep you around?"

Brooke sighed as she ran a hand through her dark hair. "Haley, I just…"

"No I get it, Brooke, you're just gonna walk away." Haley sounded angry, hell she was angry. "You think it's easy for me to deal with _our _mother or _our_ father too? Because it's not and it was easier knowing that you were there for me because you're going through the same thing too but now that you've decided that it's just too hard, I guess you're not as strong as I thought you were."

With those words Haley started back on her trek into town leaving Brooke to stand there watching her go and hoping she was making the right decision.


	14. Something More

A/N- One more chapter left…

Chapter title is "Something More" by Sugarland

**Chapter Fourteen: Something More **

January 6, 2006 10:34 a.m. Tree Hill, North Carolina

Haley James sighed as she watched the clock while ignoring everything the teacher was saying. There was nothing in the review that Haley didn't know and nothing that she was interested in anyway. It had been over two months since her twin sister had left to live in New York City and Haley hadn't realized just exactly how the move had impacted on her life.

Nathan had done his best to help fill Brooke's role in her life and though she appreciated all his efforts, it really just wasn't the same.

Suddenly a note plopped down on her desk and she glanced up wondering where it had come from. She saw Nathan trying to hide a smile as he concentrated on what their teacher was saying and she couldn't help but give him a grin.

_I'm always here to talk._

Haley let out a genuine smile as she read the note. He was so good to her and she absolutely loved him for it. She scribbled something down and as soon as the teacher turned around, she placed it on his desk. She could see him smiling as he read the note and suddenly the bell rang, surprising them out of their seats. She grabbed her stuff and waited for Nathan to finish gathering his.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and lowered his head down so his lips were right next to her ear. "I love you too." He stopped walking and pulled her to him bringing her into a soft kiss outside of her locker.

"Get a room," his teammate Jake Jagielski coughed as he opened the locker next to Haley's.

Nathan rolled his eyes as Haley giggled in embarrassment. She opened her locker as Jake and Nathan began a conversation.

"What's going on Jagielski?" Nathan held out his hand to do their manly handshake.

"How's Jenny?" Haley jumped in. She, Nathan, and Lucas had recently learned of Jake's infant daughter and they had been surprised to say the least. But they took the news quite well and had even babysat her in the last couple weeks.

Jake smiled proudly, "She's doing great. Seems to have taken a liking to you Hales."

Nathan wrapped his arm around Haley's waist as she closed her locker, "Well who wouldn't?"

"Everybody's always liked Haley," Lucas' voice cut in on their conversation as he joined them. He nodded at Nathan and Jake and glanced at his best friend. "For years I swore my mother liked her better than me."

Haley rolled her eyes. "You were a pain in the ass growing up Luke, so that's not really a surprise."

Lucas put his hand over his heart, "You wound me Hales, really, you do."

"Get over it, you big baby," Haley tried to stifle her grin.

Nathan shot a glance to Jake who was watching their banter in amusement. He had to smile at their relationship though, they truly had that brother/sister bickering down to an art. "Okay well as much as I would love to listen to the two of you fight, I've got class."

Haley nodded, "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Count on it," Nathan grinned down at her and gave her a quick kiss before nodding to Jake as they walked off to their class together leaving Lucas and Haley alone.

Lucas glanced at her, "History?"

Haley sighed, "If we must." They began their short walk together in a comfortable silence. They were used to the silence between them, talking only if Haley felt the need to fill it.

"So, uh, have you heard from Brooke lately?" Lucas asked quietly.

"Yeah she sent me a letter about a week ago and an email last night," Haley answered honestly. She glanced at Lucas hesitantly before stepping into the classroom. "She seems to be doing alright."

"Good, that's good," Lucas took his regular seat and watched as Haley sat next to him.

Haley smiled sympathetically. She at least had warning that Brooke was going to move, everyone simply heard about it through the grapevine when someone saw her boxes outside of her house. "If you want, I can tell her that you want to talk to her."

Lucas gave her a sad smile, "She's not going to want to talk to me Hales. I sent her an email about a week after she left and she just told me not to contact her again."

Haley raised her eyebrows. "That's harsh."

"Yeah," Lucas gave a small laugh. "But I guess I should have expected it, I mean we did end everything on pretty bad terms."

Haley rolled her eyes, "_You_ ended it on bad terms, she had no clue." She glanced at him. "How are you and Peyton, by the way?"

"We're not a couple if that's what you're asking," Lucas clarified. "I guess we just work better as friends, you know?" He shrugged.

"Was it worth it?" Haley asked quietly. She watched Lucas fiddle with his pencil and heard the bell rang but she didn't care, she just wanted an answer.

He shook his head regretfully. "No."

"I'm glad you realized that," Haley whispered. "Because you guys are one of the major reasons why she left and I hope that you're hurting without her as much as I am, and as much as she was when she saw you."

"Haley…" Lucas started but had to stop as the teacher walked in and began the class. She sighed and glanced at him, waiting for him to finish. "I'm sorry."

Haley nodded knowingly. "I know."

She knew. Of course she knew. Lucas had come to Nathan's apartment the day after Brooke had left and had practically spilled his guts out. It was heart wrenching for both as each had lost someone important in their lives. She only wished he had realized this earlier. "But I'm not the one you should be telling this to."

Lucas nodded at her words. He was the only one who could fix this. Not only was Haley hurting from being without her twin sister, but Peyton was hurting from being so out of touch with her best friend. Neither had ever thought their actions would have these repercussions and both knew that if they could go back and change what they did, they both would.

Haley sighed as she watched the clock change from one minute to the next. The day was just dragging and there was nothing she could do to stop it so she just watched the clock hoping that the small distraction would keep her mind off of everything else.

* * *

January 6, 2006. 12:24 p.m. New York City, New York 

Brooke Davis took a seat next to her new friends and glanced at her watch quickly noting the time. If she had been back at Tree Hill, she would have been eating lunch with her sister laughing about something that had happened on some stupid television show the night before.

"Brooke?" her friend Jenna Malone nudged her slightly, bring her back into their conversation. "Jake Gyllenhaal or Nick Lachey?"

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Before I even ask how those two got paired up together, I'm definitely gonna say Jake Gyllenhaal." She grinned at the other two girls sitting at the table.

Tonya Roberts grinned back and she nodded to Erica Murphy. "Told you. He's way hotter."

Brooke turned them out again as she got lost in her thoughts once more. It wasn't so often that she found herself missing Tree Hill but for some particular reason, it was all she could think about today. She had gotten an email from Haley the night before as they tried to keep in touch as much as they could. It was funny how much Haley had started to mean to her as her twin since she had moved to New York.

Haley had kept her in the loop of everything that was happening between her and Nathan, Lucas, Peyton, even Mouth and before she could even think of what was going on with her, she began to miss the dramatic small town and desperately tried to convince herself that she had made the right choice.

"So you guys want to go out tonight?" Tonya raised an eyebrow as she flipped her light hair expertly and winked teasingly at a small freshman who was ogling her.

Brooke shrugged, "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Jenna questioned. She shared a glance with Erica. "Whatever happened to the party girl that moved here?"

Brooke gave them a small smile as she stared out into the streets of the city. "She's definitely changed."

"What's going on Brooke?" Erica asked quietly. She had been Brooke's confidant when she had moved and the first person to welcome her in the school.

"Just a little homesick, I guess." Brooke tried to avoid the questioning but she knew this group of girls wouldn't stop. "I guess I miss Haley and hell I even miss Peyton."

Jenna raised an eyebrow, never hearing these names before. She had been the least closest to Brooke, only there to keep the party going. "Who are Haley and Peyton?"

"Haley's my twin sister," Brooke gave them a genuine smile at the mention of her sister, then she frowned softly at the next name. "Peyton's my back-stabbing bitch of an ex-best friend."

Tonya and Jenna exchanged surprised glances. It wasn't like the Brooke they knew to be so vindictive. "And you miss this person because…?"

Brooke shrugged, not knowing why she was continuing this conversation when all she wanted to do was go home and lie on her bed watching reruns of old shows. "I have no idea." She saw Erica grinning to herself as she stuffed a chip in her mouth. "What!"

"That, my friend," Erica shot her a smile. "Means you've just forgiven her."

Brooke glanced at her surprised as she heard the words. Suddenly she let out a small smile. "Maybe I have." And then she knew what she had to do. She grabbed her tray and dumped it in the trash before grabbing her stuff and leaving the three girls still sitting there.

"Hey!" Jenna yelled out. "Where are you going?"

Brooke turned around and laughed softly. "Home."


	15. Always There In You

A/N- The story is finally done. I wanted to write something short and now I'm finished. It's kind of hard to believe. Thank you all for writing reviews and showing me that someone was actually reading my story. I appreciate that so much and I'm so glad you guys liked it.

Song title is by the Valli Girls.

**Chapter Fifteen: Always There In You **

Brooke took a deep breath before knocking on the door softly. Her plane ride went by quickly, maybe because she was so nervous about coming back. No one knew she was coming except for her mother who had picked her up at the airport and had immediately driven her to the apartment complex.

"I'll get it!" She heard Haley's voice through the door and had to grin to herself at the chipper voice coming from her sister.

The door opened quickly and Haley stopped moving when she caught sight of a person she didn't think she would see this soon. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "B-Brooke?"

Brooke smiled, "Surprise?"

"Oh my God!" Haley exclaimed before enveloping Brooke into a huge hug. "What are you doing here?" She started to pull back but Brooke held on a little tighter.

"I missed you a whole lot," Brooke admitted before letting Haley go. "And I just couldn't figure out why."

Haley had to let out a laugh at the words, "Well, don't just stand there, come in and explain." She moved aside and let Brooke in, closing the door behind them.

"Hales?" Nathan's voice shot out from the bedroom. "Who's here?"

Haley smiled as she turned to him. "My sister."

"Is it the crazy one?" Nathan yelled back. "I could have sworn she hit on me the last time I saw her."

Brooke had to stifled a grin at them. "Come out here Boy toy and give me a hug!"

Brooke's voice brought Nathan out of the room in confusion. He appeared at the doorway and his eyes widened at the sight. "Brooke? I thought you were in New York?" He stepped into the room and allowed Brooke to give him a hug.

Haley smiled as she ran her hand through her hair before sitting on a stool. "So tell me, what's really going on?"

But Brooke's attention was on something else. Something like the gold band wrapped around Haley's finger. She grabbed Haley's left hand and raised it up to see it better then she turned to Nathan and grabbed his left hand, showing an identical ring. She placed the two side by side as if trying to figure out any other reason why they would be wearing matching rings.

"Uh, Tigger?" Haley glanced at her nervously, not knowing what exactly what her reaction was going to be. No one else knew of what they had planned and her sister was definitely one of the few people who mattered on this.

"Did you…are you guys…what's going…married?" Brooke sputtered out incoherently.

Haley had to laugh at Brooke's rambling. She shared a look with Nathan who shrugged innocently. "Nothing's happened."

"You guys are wearing rings!" Brooke exclaimed, finally able to complete her sentences. It wasn't often that she was caught without something to say but this was huge.

Nathan wrapped an arm around Haley's waist as he moved closer to her. "I proposed to her last week and we bought these last night."

"You guys can't get married, you're not even legally allowed to," Brooke's eyes widened. However, as the news sunk in and she saw the happy faces, she couldn't help but also feel happy for her older sister. It wasn't often that someone found their one true love so young and she knew that Nathan and Haley had found it.

Haley nodded. "Our birthday is next month Tigger, in case you forgot." She shrugged. "And besides, Nathan's emancipated."

Brooke stood there silently before throwing herself at Haley into another huge hug. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"Really?" Nathan sounded surprised, his clear blue eyes catching Haley's quickly.

"You guys love each other," Brooke started to feel the onset of tears and she scolded herself for getting so emotional. "And you belong together, everybody knows that. And okay so you guys are like really young and all but why delay something that's only gonna happen anyway?"

Haley smiled and wrapped Brooke in another hug. "Thank you."

"I was going to be invited to the wedding right?" Brooke eyed her sister carefully. "You guys weren't just going to elope, right?"

"Who else would be my maid-of-honor?" Haley laughed.

Brooke smiled. Though she had thought she was going to the one full of surprises today, Haley had definitely shocked the hell out of her. And she wasn't a bit mad, she was only happy that she could be here to celebrate. It was right there and then, that she knew she made the right decision.

* * *

The second she walked up the driveway she was starting to regret ever coming here. Though this was the only place she had been to more than a million times and though this was one of the places she ran to when she couldn't go anywhere else, she was uncomfortable being here. 

She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell, an action that seemed foreign to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever rang the doorbell, if she ever had before. She heard the footsteps and suddenly the door opened revealing a person who she hadn't talked to in over two months. "Hey."

Peyton almost took a step back in shock. She must've been seeing things. "Brooke?"

Brooke nodded uncertainly. "The one and only."

"What are you doing here?" Peyton could not believe what she was seeing. "I thought you were in New York?"

Brooke gave her a small smile, "Just wasn't enough drama there for me, can I come in?"

"Yeah," Peyton let her in and closed the door walking up the stairs to her room. "What's going on Brooke?"

"I'm sorry," Brooke stood by the doorway not venturing in any further. "For not letting you explain anything. And I wanted to tell you that I forgive you."

Peyton swiveled around on her desk chair to glance at Brooke, "You serious?"

Brooke nodded softly. "Completely."

The room went silent before Peyton finally spoke up. "I'm so sorry, you don't understand how sorry I am for doing that to you. I can't believe I ever did that, and I want you to know that nothing's going on between me and Lucas."

"I know," Brooke whispered. "And I believe you."

Peyton nodded and she eyed Brooke suspiciously. "Why are you back?"

"Just realized how much some people really mean to me and I couldn't spend the rest of my senior year moping in some state that didn't have those people," Brooke grinned at Peyton who could only smile back.

Both smiles faded when they heard a male voice shout out from the bottom of the staircase. "Peyton! You ready to go?"

Brooke winced at the voice and she could only hope that he didn't come up here because she knew she wasn't ready to deal with him just yet. Just then she realized her luck wasn't as good as she thought it was because he appeared behind her instantly.

"Brooke?"

"Lucas," She replied curtly. She obviously hadn't forgiven him yet.

Lucas stepped closer. "What are you doing here?"

"I moved back," Brooke stepped into the room and away from Lucas. She wasn't in the mood to hear him grovel and beg for forgiveness and she wasn't sure what she would do if he even started.

Peyton glanced nervously between her two friends and decided to run interference. "Hey Luke, can you wait for me downstairs, I'll only be ten minutes, I promise." She watched him nod before retreated back downstairs and turned to Brooke. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Brooke replied, anger still evident in her eyes. Only this time it wasn't directed at the skinny blonde in front of her.

"Does this mean we're friends again?" Peyton asked hopefully. She had missed the perky brunette more than she could have ever imagined and she hoped that they could go back to what they had before.

Brooke nodded softly. "I'm willing to try again, if you are."

"Of course I am," Peyton took it further and gave Brooke a hug, finally ending the drawn-out fight between them. "I'm glad you came back."

Brooke smiled into her shoulder, "Me too."

* * *

A month later and Brooke found herself sitting alone on the docks simply staring out into the ocean and the moon. It had a calming effect for her and it gave her the relaxation she needed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day and the day after would be even better. 

Haley stood behind her sister before letting herself be shown in the moonlight. "Hey."

Brooke nodded and glanced at the seat next to her, inviting the other girl to sit beside her. "Hey."

"Couldn't sleep either?" Haley asked quietly as she sat down staring out into the vast ocean. She leaned back into the backrest and let out a sigh.

Brooke gave her a slight nod. "I have a lot of things on my mind." She shrugged. "And I just needed to clear my head."

"Yeah?" Haley asked as she let the scenery around her overtake her senses, her emotions. She was feeling relaxed just sitting there beside her sister, watching the waves roll around beneath them. "Anything in particular?"

"Isn't it funny how far we've gotten, just the two of us?" Brooke asked her quickly. She shrugged again. "Everything's been going by so fast and I guess I just haven't taken the time to just sit and think about it."

"I know what you mean," Haley muttered. She closed her eyes briefly before catching her sister's gaze.

Brooke gave her a smile before linking their arms just like they had so many nights ago when they first learned of their relation with the other. "We got through it all though."

"Yeah," Haley grinned. "We have. Together, just like we promised."

"I can't believe you're getting married!" Brooke tried her best not to squeal in happiness. "Who knew I would ever get to be this happy for my sister's wedding?"

Haley had to smile at that. "I guess. I mean, I never thought I would get married this young." She caught the look on Brooke's face and continued before the other girl could say anything. "I'm not having second thoughts, I promise. I love Nathan with all my heart and I know he's the one for me. I just wish my father was here to see this."

"You know he's always watching over you Hales, right?" Brooke questioned.

"I know," Haley answered softly. She suddenly turned to Brooke. "Did I ever tell you that I'm glad you came back?"

Brooke shook her head, "Maybe only once or twice."

Haley smiled. "Well I am. I knew it was only a matter of time before you came crawling back." She shrugged playfully. "You just can't run away from this place."

"Yeah," Brooke nodded in agreement before placing her head on Haley's shoulder as they sat there in silence. She started to feel the sleep overcome her and she struggled to stay awake.

"Brooke?" Haley broke the silence as she questioned the other brunette. She glanced down at her watch.

Brooke opened her eyes but kept her head on Haley's shoulder. She was just starting to get comfortable. "Yeah Hales?"

"Happy Birthday."

Brooke smiled at the words. "Happy Birthday to you too…sis..."

The two sisters smiled as the night started to fade away. For years, they hadn't known of each other as sisters but on that one night so many months ago, things had changed dramatically for them both. And they had chosen to go through it together. Neither regretted ever having made the choice to have her sister by her side. Things were looking up for them and on their eighteenth birthday was a great day for both to finally realize that.

Brooke kept her eyes open as they sat there still huddled up before finally speaking again.

"I still can't believe you're older."

Haley laughed, "Yeah well, get over it."

The two girls lost themselves in their laughter knowing that no matter what, they were in this together.

_The End._


End file.
